Hi folks

had a punt on a Microdeal 'Replay Professional' Cartridge on Ebay and won it for 1p -with postage I'm paying a whopping £1.51!

After getting over such a coup it then occurred to me that I haven't a clue how to use/utilise it! I know I'll need to track down the appropriate software (I couldn't find anything via google but it's just occurred to me that I haven't checked the obvious places like Tim's etc), but I also wondered if I'd be able to use it at all as I've usually got a Log3 and Unitor 2 plugged into the catridge port!! Would a Combiner help? As there seem to several variants of Replay I've posted a link to my winning auction - If anybody could shed any light/offer potential solutions etc I'd be really grateful.



Jon Link to Replay Cartridge

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Jonny

Nice find, though it is a shame that the software is not with it.

As I remember, the replay pro was 16 bit, though I could be wrong with that. Also I think it could be used alongside the old Microdeal Quartet software to provide none STe's with digital out (At 8 bit though).

I'll have a dig around and see what I can find, though I think a review may have been done in SOS (I know at least one was done but can't remember where)

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The website and the Atari bit

Cheers for that. There are some old reviews on SOS that can't be viewed.
Found nothing on Tim's Atari World so will keep looking around. If you turn anything up that would be fantastic.....

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Jonny

Wrong again Mr Ramage...

Looks like the Replay 16 was 16 bit and came after the replay professional, though in my digging I have seen this referenced alongside Quartet.

Beyond that I can't find anything concrete.

You could try looking over at the Atari Forum and asking there, still quite lively (And a wiki with your sampler listed, but no text).

I also found it mentioned here and the user may be willing to copy the disk if you can get in touch with them.

Or...

Try Barrie at Keychange.

Sorry I couldn't find more.

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The website and the Atari bit

That's plenty , cheers for your help!

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Jonny

And then I found...

This

Looks like it's still 8 bits at heart but comes with some nice editing tools if you can find someone who can get the files for you

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The website and the Atari bit

Yes I saw that - looks like the cartridge referred to on the box is 12bit....

The software must be kicking about on the net somewhere. I suppose the right question to ask would be is it ok to copy and use it if I have the hardware??

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Jonny

Could well be 12bit, didn't look close up at the box and considering the Akai S series and Roland professional samplers of the time were all 12 bit, it is reasonable.

As for the software, much of it is useless without the hardware and as it is neither available new or maintained, I'd be prepared to help a fellow owner of the hardware, assuming I had the software of course (Which sadly I don't).

Best bet I think is the Atari forum website.

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The website and the Atari bit

Thanks again.

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Jonny

I have two audio cartridges, a Replay 16 (16bit) and a ST Replay (8bit) and I have various software that supports them. Some of it is commercial (ZeroX, Avalon, Quartet) and some shareware (SoundLab) and I have sample editors/recorders, plus an app called SONDIGIT v4.5 with a record buffer that shifts data in realtime from RAM to your hard drive, albeit in 8 bit audio (WAV/AVR I think). I even have a sampler called E.P.S.S. that runs as a desk accessory and hooks into Cubase. So in effect it works as a VSTi kind of and a MIDI track in Cubase plays the sampler. From what I remember reading in the manual, it may do 8 audio channels at once with an STe.


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

Quote Neo-Classical Guitar Man:

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I even have a sampler called E.P.S.S. that runs as a desk accessory and hooks into Cubase. So in effect it works as a VSTi kind of and a MIDI track in Cubase plays the sampler. From what I remember reading in the manual, it may do 8 audio channels at once with an STe.

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Interesting, would it work on a Falcon? If so, I wonder if it would also work with logic? (Fallen out with Steinberg and refuse to use any of their products again).

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The website and the Atari bit

Ah memories! When I first started out I used Replay 16 with a sequencer program by Gadgets called Breakthru (V2). If you can get hold of that program, then they are both highly compatible.

Good luck!

Yes as you read below it does work with the Falcon. I can't quite remember how it uses Cubase, i.e. MROS or just simply a MIDI output channel. If the latter you may be in luck, but worth a try anyway. Also I have used it inside the STeem emulator with success.

Quote:

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E.P.S.S. (Enhanced Polyphonic Sample Synthesizer) v0.53b


Release date:
February, 1993

Platform:
STe, TT or Falcon.
Full version. 4-8ch DMA replay via midi files/input.

Description:
This program is quite excellent. It is a sample synthesizer with 4-8 polyphonic channels. It hooks itself into Cubase and you can compose the song there and have the audio output from the STe/TT/Falcon rather than via external soundmodules. The replays are well optimized and sounds very good. The work is saved in Cubase as a normal MIDI file and can then be replayed in Cubase or directly in the EPSS control.

Credits:
Made by Copson / Unit Seventeen.

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Click to download - epss053b.zip

Click to download - EPSS v0.54 demo

Click to download - EPSS v0.51 (complete with demo songs and samples)

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION






NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

Quote N WILLIAMS:

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I used Replay 16 with a sequencer program by Gadgets called Breakthru (V2). If you can get hold of that program, then they are both highly compatible.

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I have Breakthru v2 and yes it does indeed work well with the Replay cartridges, to give four audio tracks alongside the MIDI tracks. The main limitation is sample size with it only using RAM. Shame the companies of that era didn't use RAM to hard disk cache buffering like the Sondigit app. I mean imagine how many more Atari ST(e) would have flown off the shelves, if the software had been written with buffering to do four track digital recording alongside the MIDI tracks!


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

Thanks NCGM, once the Falcon is back up fully running I'll give that a go. In the meantime I could always test drive it on the STE...

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The website and the Atari bit

Great I hope you have fun using it as it is a nice sampler. It has velocity layers, key zones and so on, oh and it can work as a standalone app too.

I think your Falcon will run it very nicely, whereas on the STe it feels like the computer is at the limits of the CPU, well with Cubase running as well I mean.


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

Quote Neo-Classical Guitar Man:

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I think your Falcon will run it very nicely, whereas on the STe it feels like the computer is at the limits of the CPU, well with Cubase running as well I mean.


NCGM

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Hehe, some of my older work used to push the ST running Cubase WITHOUT anything else running in Ram. A good example of that is a track called Mist which can be heard here.

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The website and the Atari bit

I've been away for a day but am chuffed to have come back to all this info! Apparently, the replay I've won is a 12bit version?? Anyway, I'll check out the links and look up breakthru. As a notator man with a cartridge slot already occupied by a Log3 and Unitor I expect the novelty will soon wear off so I may post back here and offer it up! Having said that it may be fun....
Cheers again for all the responses

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Jonny

I've got a couple of Replay 16 carts if anyone wants one... pm me...

Today I spent a few hours scanning, photographing, floppy disk imaging the entire retail boxed contents of my Microdeal Replay 16 sampler. I've just uploaded it to the Atarimania FTP server at the request of a Atari-Forum.com member; the file is a 120MB zipped archive. It includes the entire ring bound user manual and an Xmas 1993 brochure + order form. The rest are four floppy disk MSA images and photos of the box and hardware etc.

Until this appears on the Atarimania.com website, I might also upload it to Rapidshare or similar.


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

As promised here is the Replay 16 stuff via Rapidshare:

Microdeal - Replay 16 - Box & Contents.zip - Rapidshare (120MB)


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

I have uploaded this to the Atarimania.com ftp server and it has now been included on their website, page for page and everything downloadable individually including the floppy disks.

Atari Mania website - Microdeal Replay 16 - Entire user manual, brochures, floppy disks, photos of retail box and audio cartridge


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

Just incase the Rapidshare link no longer works, here is another link using the Humyo share service:

Microdeal Replay 16 - Retail box and all contents in their entirety


NCGM

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Footloose and fancy free...gizz a job!

Cheers! I haven't got my cartridge any more but good of you to post.

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Jonny