
			 g2ools - Nord Modular G2 Tools

Description:

g2ools is a set of python applications and libraries to handle the Nord
Modular G2 synthesizer.  It allows a person to write simple tools to process
G2 .pch2 patch files as well as .prf2 performance files.  Python was chosen
because of the authors knowledge of the langauge and portability.  The main
application written was nm2g2 Nord Modular (nm1) to G2 patch converter.  The
first version took 3 weeks from start to finish.  After the initial release,
3phase provided main models of the various modules available within the nm1
as they are quite different or missing from the Nord Modular G2.  It works
on many patches, but there are patches that will not work after the converted
patch is loaded into the G2.  3phase and I have made every attempt to do the
best convertion possible.

This software is released under the GPL licence and comes complete with
source code to the applications and libraries.

nm2g2.py

nm2g2.py is a converter from Clavia's original Nord Modular (nm1) patch file
to the Nord Modular G2 (g2) patch file.  It can convert whole directories and
currently is used to converter the Nord Modular Patch Collection consisting
of almost 30000 patches.  Many patches work and some do not.  You're success
will vary depending on the complexity of the original patch and the
differences between the two synthesizers.

dx2g2.py

dx2g2.py converts DX7 syx files into G2 patch files containing 8 DX7 patches
each.  The operators are converted exactly as the G2 contains 2 modules:
DXRouter and Operator.  The is extra circuitry for the LFO, PitchEG and
transpose.  The LFO and PitchEG are modeled as closely as possible (and may
get better) but there are differences.  The LFO rates are different between
the DX7 and G2 so the closests match is used.  The PitchEG rate parameter
is constant reguardless of the levels used.  This requires determining a
normalized time for the rate and caculating the actual time to go from one
level to the next.  Then the G2's envelope time is set to the closest match.

Installation:

Installation is a matter of decompressing the zip file into it's directory
structure stored in the zip file.

Linux:

The application requires python version 2.4 or higher to be installed.  Most
of the lastest distributions will have it.

Mac OS-X:

To run under Mac OS-X, python version 2.4 or higher must be installed.  Goto
http://www.python.org

Windows:

There is a nm2g2.exe and dx2g2.exe that should run on any Windows XP machine
without the need to install python.

Running:

Because the programs require the python modules stored in the <release>/nord
directory and the initial patches stored in the <release>/ directory, the
converters must be run within the directory.  This may be fixed in a future
release but currently this is how it works.

