Chapter 1: Basic Setup
9
ABOUT SAMPLING
UltraProteus utilizes digital recording of acoustic sounds for the basis of each
Instrument. This is similar to a tape recorder except that inside the
UltraProteus, the sounds are permanently recorded on digital memory chips.
Sound and instrument waveforms are first sampled into the Emulator III, our
top of the line, 16 bit stereo digital sampler. After the sounds and waveforms
have been truncated, looped and processed, they are permanently encoded into
the UltraProteus ROM (Read Only Memory) chips.
Conceptually, the sampling process is very simple, as shown in the Basic Sam-
pling System diagram. As a sound wave strikes the diaphragm of a microphone,
a corresponding voltage is generated. To sample the sound, the voltage level is
repeatedly measured over time and the corresponding data values are stored in
memory. To play the sound back, the numbers are read back out of memory,
modified by the Z-plane filter, converted back into voltages, then amplified and
fed to a speaker which converts the voltage back into sound waves. Of course,
playing back 32 channels at different pitches tends to complicate matters, but
this is basically how it works.
BACKGROUND
Memory
10100101001
01010010100
10101010100
10101001010
Digital/Analog
Converter
1011001
Z-Plane Filter
Amplifier
Basic Sampling System
UltraProteus
Analog/Digital
Converter
1011001
-1V -2V
3V
-1V
-2V
3V
1V
0V
3V
-3V
