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PocketPC* Musical Instrument Frequently Asked Questions:Most questions are answered in the Help file.
What are the minimum hardware requirements for PocketAxe?We recommend at least a 200MHz main processor and a separate processor for audio output. The audio processor must be support multiple voices and dynamic volume control. If your device can play MP3 files it probably has these features. Memory requirements are in the next section. If you can run PocketAxe in demo mode, it should work in the full version. How big is PocketAxe when it's installed?The main part of the installation is about 3.5MB. By default this is installed in \Program Files\Soft Wares Inc\PocketAxe. The chord description are about 30KB. They are installed in \My Documents\PocketAxe. The help file is about 13KB. It is installed in \Windows. When it's running, PocketAxe uses 5 to 10 MB of program memory, depending on the sounds loaded. (To check your program memory: On your PDA device go to menu item Start/Settings/System/Memory. Look at the Free amount in the Program section.) How do I install PocketAxe to Built-in Storage or a flash card?Start the installation by double-clicking on pocketaxe11.exe. When Add/Remove Programs runs, it will ask 'Install "Soft Wares Inc PocketAxe" using the default application install directory?' Click No to this question. You will be asked "Select Destination Media". At this point you can choose Built-in Storage or a flash card (if one is plugged in). Notes: Space Available will probably say <unavailable>. This really means that the available space is unknown, so you may want to check on the device itself to see if you have 3.5MB available in the chosen location. The installer for the PocketAxe add-ons does not work correctly when installing to Built-in Storage or a flash card. (The installation directory name is created as the name of the add-on.) You must use the Windows Explorer (the program for dealing with files and folders) to move the files into the correct folder. For example, in the case of Bass Guitar, select all of the files in the folder Soft Wares Inc PocketAxe Bass Guitar using menu item Edit/Select All, then hold the stylus down (on any of the files) until the menu pops up, and select Cut. Then go to Soft Wares Inc PocketAxe and paste the files in using menu item Edit/Paste. Why can't PocketAxe can't keep up with my strumming speed?Try switching off the highlights in Options/Show Active. There are more details in the help file. Why does the sound cut out after a while?If you load one instrument after another it appears that the memory gets used up and the program eventually stops working. This is especially noticeable if your device has less than 10MB of free program memory. This should not happen if you only load a single instrument. We are looking into the issue. The current work around is to exit by using the menu item File/Exit and start the program again. The sound is OK when I strum, but when I pick individual notes it doesn't always work.The volume needs to be set louder. If the volume is set low and the stylus or pick is moved slowly, the sound will cut out completely. You can use the arrow keys to turn up the volume, or set the volume higher with the normal volume control before you start PocketAxe. Why don't the toggle buttons work?On some devices, the toggle buttons need to be set up in the control panel. Go to the Start menu item Start/Settings/Personal/Buttons and the tab Up/Down Control . Try setting the Delay before first repeat to about the 3rd tick from the left and the Repeat rate to about the 4th tick from the left. How can I create my own sound?Make a copy of an existing .axv file. These files can be edited with a text editor such as notepad. You need to create wave (.WAV) files for each of the 18 notes described in the file. Here is an example of one line in the file piano-ac1.axv: s w-g#-1 pa1-G#-1.wav 415 -0 +3 The only part you need to change is the pa1 prefix. So in your file, say mysound.axv the line becomes: s w-g#-1 my-G#-1.wav 415 -0 +3 And for this line you need to create a file my-G#-1.wav. The name describes the note. It is a G#, 1 octave below the A-440 octave. (Notes: The line also gives the note frequency - in this case 415 hertz. If the file name is preceded by an asterisk (*) it indicates that the file may not be present - e.g. the bass guitar files.) We would like to create an area to allow PocketAxe users to share sounds with each other. So If you create a cool sound you'd like to share (with no copyright issues) send us an email at pocketaxe@pocketaxe.com What are these hardware buttons you keep talking about?Here is a typical layout of the hardware buttons. On PDA's with more buttons, buttons 1 through 4 may be shifted left.
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