Whenever our products are easy to use and well documented, here you may find useful guides with the related images to help you to configure and use your product, or just to have an idea on how it works before to purchase.
Remember that our support will reply to any inquire within the 24 hours, so if you have any trouble or you would like to suggest a new feature, just drop me an email to info@vittoriobeerbaum.com or contact me inworld (if im not online, drop a notecard to "Vittorio Beerbaum", do not use the instant messaggin please, they get "capped" and they won't reach me).
1. Play!iT Engine
2. Guitars HUD
3. Other Instruments
Play!iT© Engine, is the sound engine built into the Beerbaum Musical Instrument, it make your instrument produces "sounds". You can play normal sounds loops (10 seconds), full length songs (a sequence of sounds is plaied autmagically to produce a full length song), and add your own sounds and songs to the instrument.
The first thing you need to know is that the engine (and all the related files you need to add/modify) is always contained into a separate object than the instrument, it may be a "pick" (plecter) for the guitars, or a bow for a violin, etc., you would find the correct object to modify with the instructions that comes with the instrument.
You may call the Sounds Menu from the HUD (pressing the button "Sounds") when available, or clicking on the object (ie: clicking on the Piano seat), or when the object is too small to being clicked, typing the command via chat: "/channel menu" where channel is the current instrument channel (it is shown on the menu itself the first time you wear the player; if you closed the menu and you don't remember the channel number, just detach and wear it again).
The buttons are ordered showing the instrument features (animations for the object without a HUD), full length songs (Titles), and sounds loops (names), just click one of this to activate the selected feature.
Before you procede, i would reccomend to you to make a safety copy of this object whenever is possible (object with copy and modify permission).
Adding normal sound loops (10 seconds) is pretty easy, you just need
to rez the player object on the ground (pay attention to this, some of them are very small) and drop the sound into its invetory. The engine would update itself, showing the "new" sound into the sounds menu.
Adding full length songs is easy as well, but you need to perform local operations (on your PC) to prepare the song to be used into Second Life.
Full songs performing using "SL Sounds" is made playing a list of sounds one each other in a sequence. This is becase Second Life supports only 10 seconds length sounds. Whenever i strongly suggest to use a proper streaming server for song playing, here's how to add "SL Songs" to your instrument. First you need to split the song into 10 seconds chunks , there are plenty softwares (even freeware) that will split a song for you into multiple pieces. I'm currently using WaveLab for Windows that is one of the best Audio software available (it is commercial!) but freely to use any other software you like, or even split them manually (it's not the perfect solution indeed). Now upload your sound chunks to Second Life (remember: in .wav format) (tip: you may use "bulk upload" for a multiple upload selection using the shit or control key). Move these sounds into the instrument playing device (for a piano it would be the seat, for a guitar the pick, for a violin the bow, for a synth and DJ sets the poseball.. and so on, check your instrument instructions to figure what's the player device for the specif object). Create a notecard naming it with the song title you wish to have into the instrument sound menu (ie: "SONG 1"), and add to it the name of each sound on separate rows (do not use any blank line! neither at the end! You may look at a notecard example looking at the songs that comes already with the instrument) and add it to the player with the sounds you added before. You finished! If everything went good you'll have the song title showing up into the sounds menu and you may play it.
Pay attention to: the sound file names and the sounds you type into the notecard MUST match exactly (case sensitive!!!). Do not use any blank row into the notecard (the last line will be the last sound of the list). These songs are preloaded (otherwise they won't sounds smoothly) so do not make very long lists (we say more than 60 sounds = 10 minutes per song) otherwise you need to wait minutes for a single preload! You have some notecard already available into the instrument so you may look at them. *** THERE MUST BE NO OTHER NOTECARD TYPES INTO THE INSTRUMENT: each notecard is just used as song list *** DO NOT DELETE THE SCRIPTS OR YOUR INSTRUMENT WILL NOT WORK ANYMORE ***
The HUD is used to perform the guitar operations: playing the animations, activate special modes, popping up the Sounds Menu.
First make a safety copy so if you mess up with its position you'll have to original one to place it back on your screen.
When you wear it for the first time, it will ask to you the authorization to animate your avatar, chose "YES" here or the animations won't work!
The HUD is normally attached to the HUD (Center 2), if it won't show up for some reason, be sure to wear it rigth clicking on it and choosing: Attach to HUD > Center 2; or to any other position you'll like (if that spot is already used by another HUD). Be sure that the HUD is not "behind" any other HUD, so if it won't show up after completing the steps above, remove any other HUD and check for it again.
You souldn't do any special operation with the HUD, except adjust its position on the screen as you like, just don't forget to wear your "Guitar Pick" if you want to use the "Sounds" feature.
.HUD INSTRUCTIONS
(STOP): Stops all the current animations, effects and sounds (if in use).
(AUDIO): Calls the sound menu (you must wear the additional playing device. Ie: Guitar Pick).
(CENTER DISPLAY): Shows the current animation, mode, and "slave mode".
(PLAY): Press a single time to recall the playing position. To store a new position: press it, edit the guitar on your body and press it again.
(BACK): Press a single time to recall the playing position. To store a new position: press it, edit the guitar on your body and press it again. NOTICE: While carry on back it also stops all the current animations and sounds (if used).
(CUSTOM POSITIONS) (Grey Guitar Icons): Press a single time to recall the playing position. To store a new position: press it, edit the guitar on your body and press it again.
(ANIMATIONS ROW) (White): press to activate an animation. The animations are defined in the "_config" notecard.
(ADDITIONAL ANIMATIONS) (Blue): custom animations can be added via "_config" notecard.
(SEQUENCES 1-6): Play an animation sequence. Sequences are stored into the "_config" notecard, animations are identified by their numbers. Ie: "0|1|2|3" will play the first, second, third and fourth anim, and again. The time is specified by the "anim_time" field, but you can specify the playing time for each individual entry following the animation number by the seconds that it must play before switching to the next one. Ie: "1,10|2,5" will play the animation n.1 for 10 seconds and the animation n.2 for 5 seconds, and so on.
(RANDOM): Play random animations. The switch lenght is configured via "_config" notecard, via the field: "anim_time".
(MASTER & SLAVE): Chain icon is used to activate the "Slave Function". The "+" icon is used to add a Master. While in Slave Mode , the avatar will follow the animations executed by his master. Notice: the slave will follow the * Animations Number * not the animation name, so the slave may actually use a different animation set (set via his "_config"). In example a guitar bass (or even a drumer) may play another animation while his master is doing something else.
(EFFECTS): Stars, Thunders, Fire, Flying Hearths, Flying Note, Stop Effects.
(LEFT HAND SWITCH) (Purple Circle Arrows): Switch to left hand guitars, the animations are then mirrored (it requires a left hand guitar of course).
(RESET): Reset the HUD.
- How to add or modify the current animations:
Open the "_config" notecard. The fields to identify the animations are "animations" and "animations_L" (lefthand). Insert the animations there separated by "|", they will be assigned to the buttons from n.1 to n.16.
*** RESET THE HUD TO APPLY THE CONFIG MODIFICATIONS ***
Most of the other instruments operates in a similar way of the guitars, except that they doesn't come with a HUD. All operations are performed via menu (touching the object or call the menu via "/channel menu" command). Most of them comes with their own playing device (ie: for the trumpet it will be a ring to place on your finger), others comes with modify permission (to add your own sounds & songs).