FAQ

A list of frequently asked questions. If you have a question, first look here. You might find the answer. If not, ask me at info@bZone.be.

Questions

1. Does bZone work with the A4000 and/or A5000?
2. Will you keep on supporting the A3000 in the future?
3. I have an A3000 with OS 1.20. Why can't I use bZone?

1. What version of Windows does bZone run on?
2. Will there be a Mac version of bZone?
3. How about BeOS? Linux?
4. Do I need to install the Yamaha CBX driver to make bZone work?
5. I have a working MIDI interface under Windows. Do I need to install anything else to make bZone work?
6. Can I use bZone and my sequencer (Cubase, Logic, Cakewalk...) at the same time?
7. What is a multiclient MIDI interface?

1. What programming language is bZone written in?
2. Which MIDI library do you use for sysex?
3. Cool knobs! Where did you find the code for those?

1. Why is bZone called "bZone"?
2. How do I pronounce "bZone"?
3. Are you hired by Yamaha to write bZone?

Answers

1. Does bZone work with the A4000 and/or A5000?
   
   From version 0.90 on, all A-series samplers (A3000, A4000, A5000) are supported.
2. Will version 1.00 still work with the A3000?
   
   Yes, of course. The A3000 will stay supported. It all started with the A3000 and I'm not gonna abandon it.
3. I have an A3000 with OS 1.20. Why can't I use bZone?
   
   bZone uses MIDI system exclusive messages to talk to your A3000. Unfortunately, the MIDI sysex implementation of the A3000 OS 1.10 and 1.20 was so bad that I cannot support them. An example: when asking the A3000 OS 1.10/1.20 "Gimme a list of all samples", the A3000 simply crashes...

1. What version of Windows does bZone run on?
   
   bZone will run on any true 32 bit version of Windows. Meaning: Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT and Win2000. bZone will not run on Windows 3.1, not even with Win32s installed.
2. Will there be a Mac version of bZone?
   
   Well, I'd surely love to port bZone to the Mac. Seems like a nice challenge. And there seems to be a lot of interest. However, I've got my hands more than full with the Win version and have still so many features planned, that I don't know when I should ever find the time. Add to that that I don't own a Mac and have no experience whatsoever with Macs... To conclude: there is a chance that bZone will be ported to Mac, but it's a small one.
3. How about BeOS? Linux?
   
   Not likely. Given that only very few musicians use BeOS or Linux as their main OS for making music, it's just not worth the effort. BeOS is definitely programmers heaven with its clean, OO APIs, love em, but anyone actually uses BeOS? If bZone gets ported to another OS, it'll be MacOS.
4. Do I need to install the Yamaha CBX driver to make bZone work?
   
   No. I don't have any idea what the CBX driver is for but you certainly don't need it to run bZone.
5. I have a working MIDI interface under Windows. Do I need to install anything else to make bZone work?
   
   No. A working MIDI interface with a MIDI in and out port. MIDI out connected to the MIDI in of the Ax000, MIDI in connected to the MIDI out of the Ax000. That's it.
6. Can I use bZone and my sequencer (Cubase, Logic, Cakewalk...) at the same time?
   
   Well yes, but only if you have a multiclient driver for your MIDI interface (see next question). You can have your software sequencer playing some track and in the same time turn some knobs in bZone to hear the effect in your song. Note that you should only do this while testing, not while playing live or recording.
   The reason is: bZone uses system exclusive messages for changing parameter. These are relatively long MIDI messages and if you use them alot while playing, they might influence the timing of your songs. If you want to change sounds while playing, you should use MIDI controller messages.
7. What is a multiclient MIDI interface?
   
   The word says it: "multi-client", where you should read "client" as "MIDI application". So, a multiclient driver allows more than one ("multi") application ("client") to use the same MIDI ports of your interface. So, you could use your favorite sequencer and bZone at the same time. With a single client driver, only one application can use the MIDI ports. If you have your sequencer running and then start bZone with a single client driver, then bZone will give you an error "could not open MIDI ports" (or something similar).
   Note that it is not the MIDI interface itself which is single or multi client, but rather the driver for the interface. So if your MIDI interface has a single client driver, chances are there is a driver update that is multiclient.
   So, most modern MIDI interfaces have multiclient drivers, but what if there is no multiclient driver for your MIDI interface, but you'd still like to use your sequencer and bZone and the same time? Well, there are some options. Some software tools exist that will make you driver multiclient. The most known is Hubi's loopback device. I don't have a link handy, but do a search for "Hubi" at Google. Another such tool is MidiThruWay at technotoys.

1. Which programming language is bZone written in?
   
   C++. My favorite. C++ provides a good framework for object oriented programming while still leaving some doors open for quick and dirty low level hacking ;-))
2. Which MIDI library do you use for sysex?
   
   My own. I looked for a MIDI library when I started this project but did not find any that suited my needs: an object oriented library that would allow for synchronous and async sysex. So I wrote my own.
3. Cool knobs! Where did you find the code for those?
   
   Well, again I wrote them myself. In fact, I wrote a complete GUI library. I started by using standard Windows controls, trying to customize them. However, the Windows API really s*cks and customization is pretty cumbersome. So I wrote a complete library bottom up. I now use none of Windows built in controls.

1. Why is bZone called "bZone"?
   
   Well, long story. When I started this project, I decided not to choose an obvious name like "A3kEdit". Although this name says what bZone is (an editor for the A3k, soon also A4k/A5k), I found it too dull. So I came up with the name "BlueZone". The blue refers to the color of the A3k (and many of the synths Yamaha produced back then, like AN1x, Cs1x, Fs1r). Shortly thereafter, I decided to change this to "b.Zone", simply because it looked cool. Later however, I decided to register a domain for bZone and "b.Zone" is not a valid domainname (dots are not allowed for obvious reasons), so I again changed the name to "bZone". That one is final.
2. How do I pronounce "bZone"?
   
   As you wish. I pronounce it as "bee-zone", but some people, who know about bZone from the early days, still say "bluezone". It's al fine with me.
3. Are you hired by Yamaha to write bZone?
   
   No, not at all. I'm doing this project in my free time. After my daily job...