WS Cat Frequently Asked Questions

January, 1996

What is WS Cat?

WS Cat is a small Macintosh librarian for the Wavestation. It is designed primarily for the EX, but since the sysex formats are highly compatible, it should work with the other models too (but I'm not able to test that). WS Cat can read and write Wavestation sysex dumps in several file formats, compatible with other Macintosh Midi applications or with PC files (i.e. raw sysex or standard Midi file).

It can list (and print) the content of the banks and most of the data for each sound. Banks and individual sound elements (performance, patch and wave sequence) can be moved to new locations, within or between banks, keeping all references to other sound elements correct. Individual sound elements can also be renamed or deleted.

With MidiShare(tm) 1.68, WS Cat can exchange banks via Midi.

Where can I find WS Cat?

WS Cat is available at InfoMac:
ftp://[your-favourite-mirror-site]/info-mac/gst/snd/ws-cat-101.hqx
(That is a Binhex'ed Stuffit archive)

WS Cat is currently also available at the Wavestation home page:
http://www.magic.ca/~lost/wscat.html
(That is a Binary Stuffit archive)

What Macintosh models can be used?

WS Cat has been developed on a Powerbook 180 and a Performa 450. System 7 or higher is required, but otherwise almost any Macintosh should work. There are known Midi problem with Powerbook 150 and with some PowerMac models, but I'm not aware of the details.

What is MidiShare? Is it Share/freeware?

MidiShare is a freeware software. It has been developped at GRAME. It includes a Midi driver and a lot of stuff that can be used in a Midi application. It has a programming interface for C and Pascal.

Where can I find MidiShare?

ftp://ftp.grame.fr/pub/MidiShare

I cannot receive dumps from the Wavestation!

I assume you know how to connect the Midi cables.

To use MidiShare with WS Cat you need to install it. (Put the Control Panel in your system folder, i.e. in the Control Panel folder, and restart).

Another thing you must do, which I obviously forgot to mention in the manual, is to set the buffer size for MidiShare. Use its control panel and set the "MidiShare memory size" to something large enough. I've not calculated the minimum size, but 20 000 events is more than enough. When you change this value, you have to reboot.

Next thing to check is the port selection. Use WS Cat menu "MIDI:SetParamsÉ" and select the port you are using.

Also check that the Midi channel in this dialog is the same as you have selected as base channel in the Wavestation.

Back to the WS CAT page (at the Wavestation mailing list site)

Back to the Wavestation mailing list home page