DS404 Frequently Asked Questions

[Muon Software Ltd]

DS404 frequently asked questions.

1. "My Mac crashes when loading a large patch"

Mac OS (previous to OSX) allocates a fixed amount of memory to an application when the application is launched. This memory has to be pre-set by the user, and must be sufficient for the program's needs. If you launch DS404 inside your sequencer, DS404 uses some of that sequencer's memory allocation to load patches. To make space for large patches therefore you need to significantly increase the memory allocation for your sequencer program in Finder.

UPDATE - v1.1 onwards of DS404 will now perform a "graceful fail" in the event of an out-of-memory error.

2. "I made some edits to a sound, changed patch and then back again and found that DS404 had lost all my edits."

DS404 contains an Advanced Patch Management System, closely modelled on hardware. In most modern hardware you have to save any edits you make to patches into the memory before changing patch. DS404 is the same, and indicates when edits have taken place to the Patch or Multi with a little yellow E in the patch window. Click this to either save or undo your changes.

3. "DS404 forgets all my samples when I save my song."

Users of earlier versions of Logic Audio, Cubasis and Cubase will suffer from this limitation. Their host software limits the amount of data DS404 is permitted to save into the song file. Upon reload DS404 sees that the file is has been truncated and re-initialises to empty. The only solution to this is to upgrade your Logic or Cubase to v5 or better or Cubasis v3 or better.

4. "What file formats can DS404 load?"

None except it's own *.404 patch format, WAV and AIFF. It's free, and so there are limitations.

You can load 16-bit WAV or AIFF files of any sample frequency into DS404. Loop points and root note information are loaded too if you saved them into the file using something like Wavelab or Cool Edit.

You can also use an external editor like Awave Studio v8.7 to convert from a wide range of hard- and soft-sampler file formats, go to www.fmjsoft.com for more info.

5. "Can DS404 handle stereo files?"

Stereo files are split into two mono files and panned left and right automatically. Ds404 remembers which pairs of samples to play at runtime so edits to one half of a stereo pair affect the other half too. Volume and pan for each channel can be set indepently though. Using stereo samples halves the polyphony and doubles CPU usage.

6. "I get a lot of hanging notes with the CM patches"

Some of the CM patches have been saved with incorrect Loop Modes on some or all of the samples. Change the loop mode to OneShot/Cut if an unlooped sample plays on after releasing the key and you don't want it to.

7. "Are there going to be more patches for DS404 in the future?"

Yes, Muon is launching a range of sample CD's as are others.

[Muon Software Ltd]

Please note: the CM plugins are no longer supported by Muon Software Ltd.

Regards
Dave