Main Page News For Engineers For Developers The Emulator Micro Speccy & Micro ST Music Archives Project Vortex References
17 of March 2024
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 31. This time there are not many changes and the bulk is the correction of small flaws and minor improvements. But there is also a new functionality, and this is again the implementation of Vortex Tracker v2.6 ideas: Split pattern to divide it into parts and Pack pattern to remove its empty lines without affecting to the playback, hotkeys are not set by default, so either set them or call from the pop-up menu. As always, all changes are described in detail in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 31.
10 of March 2024
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 30. Initially, this version was conceived as a quick fix for an error in the previous one, but, as they say, appetite comes with eating. At the request of Lee Bee, setting of the auto step and of the list for the channel selection button, as well as the keys for quick jump to the beginning of the pattern quarters, has been added. A list of open windows has been added to the Window menu, Swap Channels to the track editor, Toggle Samples has been improved, keys for inserting/deleting lines have appeared in the ornaments and samples editor, as well as highlighting with Tempo step (TAD was asked a long time ago, but I didn't get around to it), paths to modules, patterns, samples and ornaments are remembered individually now, the ability to disable the confirmation request for some operations has been added, and some interface colors setting has been allowed. These and other changes are described in detail in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 30.
7 of March 2024
  • Into the For Developers section's Ice Depacker archive added Sledge Hammer / Grinder adaptation for compiler with overflow checks switched on.
2 of March 2024
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 29. There are many changes and most of them are devoted to the internal reorganization of the project, as well as the writing useful features inroduced in the Vortex Tracker v2.6 project. It was decided to abandon MDI Windows, windows outwardly remained almost the same, but this transformation required significant changes and writing functions for working with windows from scratch (moving, resizing, activating, switching, etc.). Thanks to this reorganization, both new features appeared and some old ones disappeared. This is how the activated/played window visibility tracking has been worked out, the numbering of new windows has been improved, items in the Window menu have been added, but commands related to minimized windows have been removed. The following ideas were borrowed from the VT v2.6 project: additional transposition items in the track menu, modes for displaying and editing tone shifts as notes in samples and ornaments (you can use a MIDI keyboard), display and editing of the octave number was added there, hints appeared in the sample editor, as well as a mode for recalculating sample tone shifts when changing notes in the test line, the copied pattern can be pasted into a sample or an ornament for rendering, in the same way you can paste the ornament into a sample, keys for moving the cursor in tracks editor by the amount of the auto step are added, and also for quick setting its value. At Lee Bee's request, cursor wrapping has been added to samples and tracks editors as well as to the test lines when the extreme position is reached, as well as entering numeric values from the numpad. Double-clicking on the sample/ornament in the tracks and test lines now opens the corresponding editor. In the Options dialog, settings have appeared to control the mode for displaying tone shifts as notes, as well as displaying pop-up hints for tracks and samples. Many improvements and bug fixes have also been made. These and other changes are described in detail in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 29.
21 of January 2024
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 6.4 was released. Several hundred duplicate modules were viewed, listened to and analyzed in order to find out exactly how they differ. As expected, in most cases the differences are either insignificant or arose as a result of careless edits/failures, or clearly intermediate working versions. In parallel with the removal of such modules, new ones were added. So using the zxpress.ru catalog magazines and newspapers missing from Tr_Songs were identified, and the music found in them slightly compensated for the decrease in the total number of modules. Music from numerous releases in recent months has also been added (zxdemos.ru , parties, vtrd.in etc.) and the zxart.ee updates have been reviewed. Adrien Pouleyn carried out similar work in parallel, periodically sending me its results. A total of 232 modules have been added or updated. There are currently 28837 modules, 7912 playlists and 763 text files with additional information in the archive.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 6.4+ (expanded playlists) and 6.4++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v6.4 was released. 56 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v6.4, v6.4+ or v6.4++.
10 of December 2023
  • The TurboSound modules archive was updated to version 2.9 in Music Archives section. Added/updated 5 modules. The most interesting among the new tracks is the six-channel version of the music from Shock Megademo in the good old Sound Tracker format. Total 448 ones now.
3 of December 2023
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 6.3 was released. Many thanks to Adrien Pouleyn, who, as usual, helped to find a large number of duplicates (including intermediate versions with minor changes), co-authors, authors of unsorted tracks, and also sent many new modules. Thanks to his work, the total number of modules in the latest versions of the archive remains approximately at the same level, despite the fact that the number of new modules being added is measured in the hundreds. So, with the help of the previously mentioned tandem of the Xtractor utility and the Ay_Emul ripper, to which all the collections and archives that I had previously looked were slipped, there was a significant replenishment in this version. A total of 367 modules have been added or updated. Now there are 29123 modules, 7713 playlists and 744 text files with additional information in the archive.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 6.3+ (expanded playlists) and 6.3++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v6.3 was released. 40 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v6.3, v6.3+ or v6.3++.
27 of October 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 28. Some new features are realised in addition to the traditional bug fixes and minor improvements. So, support for MIDI keyboards is implemented: you can input both notes and their volumes (these features are configured without calling the Options dialog via the toolbar buttons). In addition, if such a need arises, you can force Vortex Tracker II to process MIDI messages even in the background or if minimized (the corresponding option is in the Options dialog). At the request of Dmitry Bystrov, an Unroll button has been added to the Samples tabsheet to convert a sample with accumulations into a traditional one (without slides). Details as usual in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 28.
15 of October 2023
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 6.2 was released. Adrien Pouleyn helped to find and remove many duplicates and intermediate versions, found many modules that did not have an AYL link to the co-authors or to the authors of the original module (for remixes), and also sent a large number of new modules. Have been viewed zxart.ee site updates for recent months, new demos that Goblin periodically posts on the site zxdemos.ru, and also part of the disk images archives that I have accumulated. In addition, Vitamin added a new key for his Xtractor utility, thanks to which it was possible to establish a symbiosis of this utility and the Ay_Emul extractor, and a repeated pass through the AAA collection gave a lot of new modules and information for Tr_Songs. In the course of work, sometimes there were remixes of familiar music, which, as usual, was added to the playlists of the Playlists\Remixes folder. A total of 456 modules have been added or updated. Now there are 29089 modules, 7580 playlists and 740 text files with additional information in the archive.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 6.2+ (expanded playlists) and 6.2++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v6.2 was released. 108 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v6.2, v6.2+ or v6.2++.
13 of October 2023
  • An utility KillDoubles with the source text for removing duplicate files in a given folder is published in the For Developers section. It was written back in 2003 and was actively used by me when working on music archives. However, in 2023 it had to be redone, because it was found that it works with folders of 10-20 thousand modules very slowly (this need arose during testing of the Vitamin's Xtractor utility). At the same time, I remembered that I hadn't published it yet. Use with caution, duplicates are deleted immediately (without a request to the user).
12 of October 2023
  • The TurboSound modules archive was updated to version 2.8 in Music Archives section. Added/updated 45 modules. Total 445 ones now.
1 of October 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 27. The changes are mainly related to exports. So, the export to SNDH has been improved: now they can be saved packed with PACK-ICE, which is what the bulk of SNDH files on the Internet are packed with. Added export to PSG (the idea was taken from VT II v2.6: when exporting a TS pair, two files are saved), as well as to WAV (with the current playback settings). Both functions, unlike Ay_Emul, do not interrupt playback, but work out in parallel with it, which is why AY emulation and module decoding related code has been completely rewriten. Now the maximized window's coordinates before maximization are saved at the exit, hot keys for volume control are added (this can also be done with the mouse wheel), and the current parameters (sample, volume, etc.) are always set correctly after stopping playback. A lot of improvements and fixes have also been made, which it is not advisable to describe in detail in this news feed (see readme.txt).
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 27.
3 of September 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 26. Changes when drawing the amplitude in the sample with the mouse are now grouped for the possibility of undoing in one click. At the request of Nik-O, almost all keyboard shortcuts, including note ones, can be configured in the Options dialog. In addition, new global hotkeys have been added to select the octave number (the idea is taken from VT II v2.6). The redrawing of some controls has been optimized and one interesting bug has been fixed. You can read more about these changes in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 26.
9 of August 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 25. A test line has been added to the pattern editor tabsheet (the same as on the ornaments and samples tabsheets), but its functionality has been expanded: it stores parameters for automatic substitution when entering a note in a pattern (this mode is enabled and fine-tuned by the buttons located above this test line). The Tables tabsheet has been added, where the setting of the note table number has been moved, and now the periods of each of the 96 notes are displayed there (the table or its selected fragment can be copied to the clipboard and pasted, for example, into the Excel). Added grouping of a number of sequential actions of input automation commands to ability undo with one click. Fixed a number of bugs, including critical ones. Details as usual in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 25.
22 of July 2023
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 6.1 was released. Adrien Pouleyn helped as usual, thanks to which the archive was replenished with new music, authors and co-authors. In addition, they finally got around to sorting out the remnants of the archives sent by Pavel Zegelman a few years ago: had been unsorted AAA's archive (of discs with demos) which Pavel passed through the ripper of ZXTune package; as a result, I had to look through this archive manually, because the result after the ripper was unsatisfactory (not everything was found, and a large part was ripped incorrectly). A total of 690 modules have been added or updated. Now the archive contains 28865 modules, 7317 playlists and 726 text files with additional information.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 6.1+ (expanded playlists) and 6.1++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v6.1 was released. 104 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v6.1, v6.1+ or v6.1++.
17 of June 2023
  • The TurboSound modules archive was updated to version 2.7 in Music Archives section. Added/updated 8 modules. Total 401 ones now.
4 of June 2023
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 6.0 was released. Once again, Adrien Pouleyn was of great help: in addition to removing duplicates and intermediate versions of some modules, Adrien sent a large number of modules, which added not only the collection, but also the list of composers; he also found many existing modules' co-authors, for which AYL links were created. Sorting of several discs collections sent by AAA was completed: chelybinsk_roversoft, restoring_chelyaba and DRLOV. Music from the latest demo parties and zxart.ee updates was added. A total of 253 modules have been added or updated. Now the archive contains 28527 modules, 6754 playlists and 710 text files with additional information.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 6.0+ (expanded playlists) and 6.0++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v6.0 was released. 44 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v6.0, v6.0+ or v6.0++.
20 of May 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 24. Above the first three tracks (numbering, envelope and noise periods) buttons have appeared that enable their alternative display modes: decimal for numbering and a noise, as a note for an envelope; notes can now be pasted into the envelope period track from the clipboard, as well as envelope periods into note tracks (envelope periods are converted to notes during pasting); notes can now be entered into an envelopes track (including with zero octave); there are new settings in the Options window; added algorithms provided by Alexander Boolba: Cascade, Tile Horizontally/Vertically, Find, Close All for windows, added bringing the second TS window to the foreground when clicking on the first one; fixed some bugs. There are quite a few changes, they are described in detail in readme.txt.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 24.
6 of May 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 23. The editor and global settings windows have been redesigned, fonts and colors can now be selected not only for tracks, the size of the edited modules windows can now be changed dynamically, work with TS-pairs windows has been improved (they now hook each other when moving and resizing), some errors and shortcomings have been fixed. Some of the ideas are taken from the Vortex Tracker II v2.6 project by Ivan Pirog. The description of the most significant changes has 22 items (see readme.txt).
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 23.
9 of April 2023
  • The Vortex Project section was updated with Vortex Tracker II 1.0 beta 22. There are a lot of changes, in addition to fixing errors (old ones and those that appeared after switching from Delphi to Lazarus), there are also changes in the interface: a new volume control and the ability to work with the clipboard in the sample and ornaments editor, as well as in their test lines. There is the description of the changes turned out to be quite voluminous (24 points) in readme.txt, explore it.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 22.
12 of March 2023
  • The TurboSound modules archive is updated to version 2.6 in Music Archives section. Added/updated 21 modules. Total 395 ones now. All those files are also included in Tr_Songs v5.9.
21 of February 2023
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 5.9 was released. The qualitative changes were comparable to the quantitative ones in this version, so the total number of modules did not increase by much. Qualitative changes occurred mainly due to the efforts of Adrien Pouleyn: he found a large number of duplicates (including inter-format), intermediate or broken versions of modules. As a result, the number of modules removed from the archive at some moments exceeded the number of added ones. However, due extracting from the Nomygfx discs collection from AAA and some others that I have accumulated, from the latest demo parties and zxart.ee updates, the situation was slightly corrected. A lot of author tags were found in the disc collections (in the music player routines), they were added to the corresponding modules. Overall, 364 modules were added or updated. The archive contains 28443 modules, 6540 playlists and 705 text files with additional info.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 5.9+ (expanded playlists) and 5.9++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v5.9 was released. 84 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v5.9, v5.9+ or v5.9++.
10 of February 2023
  • The Nostalgic.7z (ZX Spectrum Music) archive have been updated to version 1.2 and VtxYmEtc.7z ("VTX, YM, etc") archive have been updated to version 1.3 in Music Archives section. These archives were published on this site at one time due to the fact that I have accumulated a lot of VTX and YM files (this is register dumps), and the originals were either not found, or were not yet available to me in the form of AY files. I want to thank Adrien Pouleyn for being able to find some originals in Tr_Songs, as a result of which this update became possible.
  • Another change on the site will be noticeable to English-reading visitors: thanks to the efforts of Kaens Bard, the English text in most sections has been edited and corrected. Thank you for your help!
8 of January 2023
  • Updated some documents in the PT3Docs archive at the For Developers section.
18 of December 2022
  • Ay_Emul v2.9 has been released. 32 beta versions have been released since the version 2.8 release. Although the TODO list is far from empty, the main issues have been solved. The help data has been updated and, due to the corresponding section, has practically turned into an encyclopedia of ZX Spectrum music formats. Not many changes have occurred compared to the latest beta version: several bugs and flaws have been fixed in the Linux version's digital sound engine; the SNDH music durations database from the SC68 project is now supported; improvements and bug fixes in the support code for some formats (details in readme.beta.txt ). Search in The Emulator section.
  • The sources of Ay_Emul v2.9 are published in the For Developers section.
10 of October 2022
  • The TurboSound modules archive is updated to version 2.5 in Music Archives section. Added/updated 43 modules. Total 374 ones now. All those files are also included in Tr_Songs v5.8.
27 of September 2022
  • In the Music Archives section Tr_Songs archive version 5.8 was released. Finally, finished work with the most music archives I have, and the only thing left to do is ripping the demo/games/disks collections. Also included some music from last demo parties and zxart.ee updates. There were many changes in folder Playlists too. Overall, more than 800 modules were added or updated. The archive contains 28348 modules, 6206 playlists and 701 text files with additional info.
  • In the Music Archives section, the Tr_Songs archives version 5.8+ (expanded playlists) and 5.8++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • The AY Composers List v5.8 was released. 51 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v5.8, v5.8+ or v5.8++.
3 of July 2022
  • Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 21 is released. Some improvements in FTC import: added import of Fast Tracker 1.07+ modules (including a naive implementation of the FTC 1.08 beta 1's Retrig command), and fixed some errors of the previous FTC version import; improved Atari ST player to play the new features of PT 3.7, added importing .AY-files type ZXAYST11, some editor design and behaviour were changed, fixed an error of the previous beta 20. Read more about these and other improvements in readme.txt. Download from the Vortex Project section.
  • The For Developers section now has the source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 21.
1 of July 2022
  • The FTCPlayer archive in the For Developers section offers the source code of Fast Tracker 1.07 and 1.08 beta 1 players.
25 of June 2022
  • AY Emulator v2.9 beta 32 is released. Several changes: AS0 detector (works if file name extension is not .as0) can detect AS0 with tags now; native FTC-player does not out same R13 values, Ay_Emul's FTC-player now too; new FTC 1.07 note tables was supported; Fast Tracker 1.08's Retrig command was supported. See readme.beta.txt for details, search in the Emulator section.
  • Into to the Programmer section added source code of Ay_Emul v2.9 beta 32.
19 of June 2022
  • Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 20 is released. Added AS0, ST1, ST3 and STF import, extended STC import, fixed hobeta export of non-TS module w/o player, AY emulation and digital sound engines are replaced with more perfect ones (from the latest Ay_Emul), options are saved in configuration file now. Read more about these and other improvements in readme.txt. Download from Vortex Project section.
  • Into to the Programmer section added source code of Vortex Tracker II v1.0 beta 20.
13 of June 2022
  • In STDocs archive of to the Programmer section ST3 format description was extended.
12 of June 2022
  • Into STDocs archive of to the Programmer section added ST3 format description (special compilation of Sound Tracker).
11 of June 2022
  • AY Emulator v2.9 beta 31 is released. ST3 modules support has been added. ST3 is slightly modified STC for more fast ZX player. Loader of STC can detect tags inserted from ST3 player. See readme.beta.txt for details, search in the Emulator section.
  • Into to the Programmer section added source code of Ay_Emul v2.9 beta 31.
27 of May 2022
  • Into STPDocs archive of to the Programmer section added Sound Tracker Pro user manual and non compiled module format description.
26 of May 2022
  • In Archives of music section Tr_Songs archive version 5.7 was released. Added some missed music from zxart.ee, AY-files with ST3 and old AS0 are replaced with corresponding STC and ASC, added music from last (and not only) demo parties, continued ripping music from previuosly downloaded or sent demo and arhives. So, added or updated about 900 modules. The archive contains 27710 modules, 6088 playlists and 700 text files with additional info.
  • In Archives of music section Tr_Songs archives version 5.7+ (expanded playlists) and 5.7++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • AY Composers List v5.7 was released. 372 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v5.7, v5.7+ or v5.7++.
13 of March 2022
  • AY Emulator v2.9 beta 30 is released. Fixed error in STF compiler. See readme.beta.txt for details, search in the Emulator section.
  • Into to the Programmer section added source code of Ay_Emul v2.9 beta 30.
8 of March 2022
  • AY Emulator v2.9 beta 29 is released. Added support of ST11 subtype of AY-files, fixed error in Atari ST code page (used for decoding SNDH tags), fixed error in SNDH loader (added default player frequency for SNDH without corresponding tag), SNDH tags analyzer was totally rewrote, application translation was revized with fixing one bug of previuos beta 28. See readme.beta.txt for details, search in the Emulator section.
  • Into to the Programmer section added source code of Ay_Emul v2.9 beta 29.
7 of March 2022
  • TurboSound modules archive is updated to version 2.4 in Music Archives section. Added/updated 66 modules (mostly found at zxart.ee). Total 336 ones now.
27 of February 2022
  • AY Emulator v2.9 beta 28 is released. Changed font of main window to fix some national characters, added one more native ZX music format STF (uncompiled Sound Tracker Pro). See readme.beta.txt for details, search in the Emulator section.
  • Into to the Programmer section added source code of Ay_Emul v2.9 beta 28.
13 of February 2022
  • In Archives of music section Tr_Songs archive version 5.6 was released. AAA music disks were added as Playlists\AAA, old archives analizing was continued/finished, some modules was updated with ASC, STP and ST 3.0 tags, some broken modules are replaced with good ones, some interformat conversions are replaced with original modules, last years updates from zxart.ee were analyzed too. Soundtracks from some demos was recorded in .VTX or saved as .AY. Some interesting changes was made in Playlists\Remixes and Cinema. Some musicians' same modules versions was listened and analyzed too keep only one best version. So, added or updated more than 1300 modules. The archive contains 27201 modules, 5979 playlists and 701 text files with additional info.
  • In Archives of music section Tr_Songs archives version 5.6+ (expanded playlists) and 5.6++ (expanded playlists and folders) were released too.
  • AY Composers List v5.6 was released. 165 records were added/updated. Can be found inside of Tr_Songs archive v5.6, v5.6+ or v5.6++.
4 of February 2022
  • TS-modules archive is updated in Music Archives section. Added 12 modules. Total 281 ones for now.
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