CHAPTER 2. OPERATING MENU-DRIVEN EQUIPMENT WITHOUT SIGHT

Operating a menu-driven synth is much like operating a stand-alone computer. When you turn it on you are presented with a "main screen" from which you can sample the voices and choose from a list of voice-editing menus. Unlike a computer keyboard the control panel on a synth does not follow any standard configuration.

In order to change the features of a voice such as its volume, attack and decay times, you must first press the proper sequence of buttons to bring up the appropriate menu. Then you can adjust the desired feature with a small wheel. Only at this point will you hear changes occur in real time.

In an effort to provide a more "analog" feel to menu-driven synths some builders make an "add-on" that contains switches and sliders that let you control the parameters of a voice without having to move among the menus. Three popular units are: the PV Company's PV16, the Kawai Company's MM-16 MIDI Mixer, and the Roland Company's PG1000 Programmer.

While outboard computers permit the installation of hardware and software that give the blind user screen access, the menu-driven synthesizer has a specific block of memory dedicated to its software, and that software is firmware, so it cannot be changed. Access to the LCD must be accomplished by installing separate hardware and software. At present I know of two firms that can provide this service.

1. Wayne Thompson, an electronics engineer at the Kentucky Department for the Blind, has modified several brands of instruments by incorporating firmware and circuitry that feed the information on the LCD to either an external speech synthesizer, or to a PC-compatible computer via a telecommunications program. He reports that the displays on diverse instruments employ similar connections. This modification costs $400 to $500.

2. Access Systems International in Monterey, California sells an interface that converts LCD information into ASCII format. An RS232 port must be installed onto the device whose display is to be read. The company has already documented modifications for a large number of devices including printers, music synthesizers and VCRs. They will, on request, assist the user in obtaining data for adapting specific equipment. Each such installation costs around $1,000.

Aside from these sources, one synth manufacturer, EMU, has three products that transmit the contents of the display to a PC-Compatible computer in one complete "dump:: the UltraMorpheous, the E-64 and the E-4. The UltraMorpheous is nice because it provides an ASCII dump. The E-4 and E-64 send bit maps of the screen.

This isn't a MIDI command, it happens when you type "enter" on the PC keyboard. Attaching a PC keyboard to an E-64 makes it semi-accessible, because a lot of functions that are nested deep in menus are available as command combinations.

Peter Elsea, head of the Electronic Music Studio at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is planning to write code that will perform optical character recognition on the pictures so they can be read.

The catch is that EMU does not want to admit these features exist. These are diagnostic routines, and EMU doesn't want to support them in all future revisions. Mr. Elsea reports that his lobbying efforts have not been successful. He suggests that requests from a lot of musicians for this support should be sent to EMU.

The truth is that for most of us these solutions are either too costly or they require an indeterminate period of time to materialize. Besides, you will not need equal access to all the menus all the time.

Once you have an accessible form of the instrument's manual, determine the features you will use the most. Then, write a small manual that tells you which buttons to push, in what order, which cursor keys to push, and how many times to push them.

This method is by no means foolproof. Switch contacts can "bounce" and you will occasionally lose track of where you are in a sequence. You will now have the unenviable task of regaining your position. Although this can try your patience sorely, I can assure you that your sighted counterpart will make similar mistakes and often is just as confused while correcting them.

If you are an experienced computer user you will find that a "sequencer," the program that records and plays music through your synth, will give you access to many features of the control panel. These topics are covered in detail in Chapters 3 and 4.

Go on to Chapter 3.

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