The SoundBlaster Digest

The first transmission

The debut sets out a newsletter “for the users, by the users,” reviewing Prince of Persia and Blaster Master while sharing recording fixes, file-extension lore, and a short history of the card.

• Prince of Persia
• Blaster Master
• Recording tips

Finding its voice

A larger second issue compares VOUT and VPLAY, explains ways to improve VOC playback, opens the mailbag, and maps the growing Sound Blaster BBS world.

• VOUT vs. VPLAY
• VOC files
• BBS directory

Build your own MIDI

A practical guide to ROL, BNK, CMF, and SBI music files leads into a do-it-yourself Sound Blaster MIDI interface designed to cost less than $25.

• FM music
• File formats
• DIY MIDI

The C/MS issue

Creative Music System hardware takes center stage, supported by commercial and shareware reviews, reader letters, writing guidance, and another tour of music BBS culture.

• C/MS
• Software reviews
• BBS culture

Inside the DAC

Reviews of Creative Voice Editor, Rise of the Dragon, and SPUTTER accompany a programmer-focused lesson on directly accessing the card’s digital-audio channel.

• DAC programming
• Rise of the Dragon
• SPUTTER

Six months on

The half-year edition looks back at the Digest’s origin, introduces digital sampling fundamentals, and reviews TrakBlaster 2.0 and JMPlayer 1.1.

• Digital sampling
• TrakBlaster
• JMPlayer

A Pro on the horizon

A handy music chart and an early Sound Blaster Pro preview anchor an issue shaped by reader surveys, community writing, and a newly expanded editorial team.

• SB Pro preview
• Music chart
• Reader survey

Community edition

Hints, tips, and a review of Jumpman Lives! share space with the registered-BBS roll call and a renewed request for readers to contribute their own discoveries.

• Jumpman Lives!
• Hints & tips
• BBS list

The biggest issue yet

The Digest formally embraces the Sound Blaster Pro, with reviews spanning Lemmings, Wing Commander, and SimEarth plus substantial hardware coverage of the Pro and Thunder Board.

• Sound Blaster Pro
• Game reviews
• Thunder Board

Double digits

Issue ten ranges from Castles, Breach 2, and Secret of Monkey Island to Voice Blaster shareware and a close look at the software bundled with the Sound Blaster Pro.

• Voice Blaster
• Monkey Island
• SB Pro software

Living in stereo

Masterblazer receives the commercial-review treatment, C/MS support on the Sound Blaster 1.5 is revisited, and “Living in a Stereo World” explores the expanding audio landscape.

• Masterblazer
• C/MS
• Stereo audio

First anniversary

The anniversary issue launches a contest and delivers major reviews of RSP and Wing Commander II alongside better-recording advice, Puzznic, and VOC_SHOW.

• Wing Commander II
• Recording
• VOC_SHOW

A year in review

A Sound Blaster timeline and the Digest’s first annual index turn the final 1991 edition into a compact history, rounded out by a review of Budokan.

• SB timeline
• Annual index
• Budokan

Readers take the page

A new reader column broadens the magazine’s voice, while SimEarth and a public-domain digital-noise-reduction utility receive detailed reviews.

• Reader column
• SimEarth
• Noise reduction

Trackers and rumours

Mod Play 2.10 and Pro Mod 1.0 reflect the tracker scene’s rise, while survey results and “The Rumour that Flew” capture the community’s fast-moving hardware conversation.

• Mod Play
• Pro Mod
• 1991 survey

The multimedia upgrade

King’s Quest V on CD-ROM, Trak Info, MOD and NST formats, and a hardware review of Creative’s MultiMedia Upgrade Kit mark a decisive move beyond the original card.

• King’s Quest V
• CD-ROM
• Multimedia kit

Windows changes the field

As Windows 3.1 arrives, the Digest examines Sound Blaster MIDI, Blaster Master 5.0, Jill of the Jungle, EcoQuest, and Creative’s new OPL-3 Sound Blaster Pro.

• Windows 3.1
• OPL-3
• Sound Blaster MIDI

A new publishing format

The first Windows Write multimedia edition pairs Windows 3.1 coverage with MIDI, Mod Play Pro, the Protracker module format, MusicWorks, and a broader vision for multimedia publishing.

• Windows Write
• Protracker
• MusicWorks

The multimedia edition

The Windows-native issue reviews Intellitracker, WinMOD, and VideoBlaster, explains the mathematics of 8- versus 16-bit sound, and begins a wider MIDI column.

• 8- vs. 16-bit
• VideoBlaster
• Intellitracker

Buying into multimedia

A PC sound-card buyer’s guide, new Creative products, Sherlock Holmes on CD-ROM, presentation planning, MIDI, and an OPL-2 voice editor fill the supplied text archive.

• Buyer’s guide
• Sherlock Holmes
• OPL-2 editor

A new name for a wider world

The first WAFFER! MultiMedia Digest widens the lens with MIDI and FM-music guidance, a new CD-ROM column, Microsoft Media Player, and reviews of Robin Hood, Links 386 Pro, and Amazon.

• WAFFER! debut
• FM & MIDI
• CD-ROM corner

Converted from the supplied ARJ archive.

A wider multimedia world

Now titled WAFFER! MultiMedia Digest, the publication reviews Stunt Island, Wave for Windows, Cool Edit, and the Sound Blaster 16 with Wave Blaster while opening a regular CD-ROM corner.

• WAFFER! era
• SB16 & Wave Blaster
• Cool Edit

Packaged from the supplied issue folder.

From FM to CD-ROM

An editorial challenges stagnant FM synthesis as reviews cover Icon Hear It and Icon Make It, Zone 66, ATI’s Graphics Ultra Pro, and several new interactive CD-ROM titles.

• FM synthesis
• Zone 66
• CD-ROM reviews

The final archived issue

The surviving run closes with the Gravis UltraSound, The 7th Guest, Library of the Future, King’s Quest VI, multimedia news, and an included configurable FM MIDI driver.

• Gravis UltraSound
• The 7th Guest
• FM MIDI driver