Hi everyone,Not sure if it will interest anyone as everything nowadays becomes virtual, but recently (and mostly inspired by @PhilsComputerLab - thanks Phil!) I managed to acquire a few physical sound generator modules off eBay, mainly to use with DOS games. I always preferred the real thing versus emulation and these modules were found quite cheap, apart from the MT-32 which was expensive as it's very rare to find it in the condition I've found mine along with the original box. The units are:Roland Multi Timbre Sound Module (MT-32)Roland Sound Canvas SC-55 (first release, showing just the GS logo - no GM logo on this unit).Roland Sound Canvas SC-55mkIIRoland Sound Canvas SC-88VLYamaha Tone Generator MU80. So if anyone would like me to make sound comparison between the physical modules in games, or even versus the virtual plugin I'd be happy to make some recordings and share on my YouTube channel.By the way, I've also gathered full hardware setup to build a retro PC based on DOS and Windows 98SE (all items are new-old-stock in shrinked packages) and I'm willing to make a video of the build, along with opening each package and showing its content, and with presenting and comparing these sound modules. I'm just waiting for some last video gear equipment that should arrive soon to begin working on the video.
I assume that the answer of most of you will be Yes, but it would be nice to hear some feedback if such project with my equipment interest you. So I'd know if the effort is worthwhile.P.S: The Lazy Susan base in the pictures is motorized and I'm going to use it to present all the hardware pieces in the videos. I built it according to this YouTube tutorial if anyone is interested:Cheers,goldengNewbie Posts: 27 Joined: 2014-11-30 @ 17:45 Location: Israel.
Hi,Has anyone who purchased the standalone version experienced issues with Roland’s activation program? I had to clean install Win 10 and cannot get the activator to load. I’ve never had this issue before. Basically, when the SCVA VSTi loads, it hangs when loading activator.exe. Activator loads and I can see it in task manager but the Ui for me to input my password never appears.
Forcing a close on activator allows SCVA to run but only in trial mode. Any input is appreciated.Newbie Posts: 31 Joined: 2013-9-18 @ 05:37. I'm having an issue with SCVA and Space Quest V. If you watch, pay attention to the 0:14 second mark and you'll hear what sounds like a 'stuck note' or something similar.
It sounds like the note was supposed to change, but didn't, and it sounds strange.I've seen something similar happen before when launching a game too quickly after launching SCVA, not giving SCVA enough time to fully initialize before the game loaded, but I've tested with as long as a 5-second delay between the two, with similar results.Can anyone with SCVA and Space Quest V test and see if they get a similar outcome? Any ideas here? Member Posts: 197 Joined: 2009-3-17 @ 00:59. KainXVIII wrote:Here is mine recorded video (don't mind russian translation )Yeah, yours sounds correct. There at the end, that one note shifts down, but mine does not. What gives?One thing I am wondering about - how did you get your SQ5 installation? Did you install any patches?
Originally, I was using Collector's installer (I have the Space Quest Collection Series), but just for kicks, I tried an 'alternate' version with the same results.I don't think that installation or patches matters, mine GoG version sounds same.Member Posts: 319 Joined: 2015-5-20 @ 15:04 Location: Yaroslavl.
About ten years ago I found myself in need of a hardware MIDI solution for my Windows XP machine. At the time I had a Sound Blaster X-Fi in the machine, but it did not have a hardware MIDI IN and OUT port. The add-on that would add these ports was very expensive at the time, but I needed a hardware MIDI solution to use my Roland MIDI modules such as the CM-500 I had at the time. A less expensive solution was a USB MIDI interface, so I decided to buy one. The one I bought was the Edirol/Roland UM-1X, and it was not particularly inexpensive but I figured I needed a good quality solution for non-GM devices like the MT-32.The UM-1SX is the same interface as the UM-1X but you need to plug in your own MIDI 5-pin cables. There were earlier UM-1 and UM-1S, which appear to function identically to the UM-1X and UM-1SX except they do not have the Advanced Driver Switch on them.
After the UM-1X is the UM-1EX, which adds a switch for toggling MIDI OUT and MIDI THRU functionality and the UM-2EX, which adds a second MIDI OUT. After the 1EX and 2EX came the UM-ONE and the Roland UM-ONE mk2. The UM-ONE mk2 is the only one of these products which is not discontinued.
Roland Virtual Sound Canvas
The ONE and the ONE mk2 are the only one of these interfaces that have Windows 10 drivers. The rest have drivers only until Windows 8/8.1.The Edirol/Roland UM-1X (courtesy of musiciansfriend.com)The XP driver install for the UM-1X was a bit weird for a USB device because it requires you to start the installer, then plug in the interface. Also, if I recall correctly, if you unplug the interface, you needed to restart your machine to get it working again. Despite its quirks, the interface worked perfectly with the LA synthesis portion of the CM-500 and later my CM-64, CM-32L and MT-32. DOSBox would use it without difficulty, as would Windows Media Player.
I also used it when I built a newer PC with Windows 7 for a while, but when I became more interested in vintage systems, I put the interface away for several years.For no particularly compelling reason, I decided to retrieve the UM-1X from the bin I had stored it in to see whether I could get it working with my current PC, which runs Windows 10.In my Windows 10 machine, when I plugged the interface into any of my motherboard's USB ports, Windows refused to recognize it, giving an error message that it could not recognize the device. I tried following the instructions given here, but unless I could get beyond the error message, they were no help.I no longer have my Windows XP machine, but I do have its successor, which originally ran Windows 7.
Now the older computer runs Windows 10 and when I plugged it into its motherboard ports, Windows recognized it and installed its own driver. Feeling encouraged, I plugged it back into my current Windows 10 machine and got. The same error as before. I happened to have a USB hub connected to my machine, so I tried it in one of its working slots. Lo and behold, Windows 10 recognized it right away.I concluded that for basic functionality you do not need Roland's drivers in Windows 10, except possibly for the ONE series. If you plug a UM device into a compatible USB port, Windows 10 will automatically recognize it as a USB MIDI interface.
Installing the Roland driver using the instructions given above was not necessary. In fact, installing the Roland driver may be more of a hindrance than a help.The next issue is using a MIDI device with Windows 10. Windows' MIDI Mapper has existed in some form or another since Windows 3.0 MultiMedia Edition. MIDI Mapper allows you to assign the MIDI device to any hardware you may have connected to your PC like a UM-1X and any software emulators you may have installed like the Roland Virtual Sound Canvas, Yamaha S-YXG50 or MUNT.
Microsoft's default selection in the MIDI Mapper is for its 'Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth', a decent Roland Sound Canvas emulator. However, in Windows 8 Microsoft eliminated the MIDI Mapper and all programs that support MIDI will use the 'Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth' option unless the program supports selecting a MIDI device. Sequencer software should support selecting devices, but media players may not.DOSBox does support allowing you to use any MIDI device you have attached to your computer, and you can see which devices Windows reports to it with by typing the mixer /listmidi command in DOSBox's DOS command line prompt. You take the number you want for the device you see and enter it in the midiconfig= line in the DOSBox.conf file.
DOSBox will output MIDI to an MT-32 or SC-55 using the UM-1X. It will even work with a Yamaha FB-01, but you will probably need a bug-fixed FB01.DRV driver found here: or will have to start the game twice with a recent DOSBox SVN. You can play large MIDI files, like the ones hosted at the Quest Studios Archive, using a recently developed player called DOSMid:.
Edirol Virtual Sound Canvas Vst
It can also be used to transmit.syx files, which are often required for MT-32 soundtracks.As far as native Windows MIDI players are concerned, another Windows 3.0 MME stalwart, Windows Media Player, is probably your best option. WMP plays anything in a MIDI file, including system exclusive messages embedded in MIDI files. The larger Quest Studio complete soundtrack files will not give any troubles to WMP.
However, if you want WMP to use anything other than the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth, you will need some 3rd party help. Programs that exist to allow you to select the default device for Windows Vista and 7 (a feature Microsoft removed from the Control Panel) will not work with Windows 8-10 because Microsoft removed the remainder of the MIDI Mapper. (Fortunately, the CoolSoft MIDIMapper was released earlier this year that will let you set the default device in Windows 8-10. You can find the latest beta as of this writing here:VLC media player has had a rather troubled relationship with MIDI. MIDI output support was available for Windows version 1.1.0 to 2.0.8. 2.0.8 was released on August 16, 2013 and the current official version of VLC is 2.2.4 from June 2, 2016. I recall that VLC had issues with larger MIDI files.
Den unge werthers lidande pdf to wordpress. MIDI returns to some extent in the 3.0 Nightly Builds in that it will playback MIDI using a SoundFont you load in the program's preferences menu. It does this by incorporating FluidSynth, an interface which can playback MIDI files through a SoundFont.
But that is the extent of its MIDI playback capabilities.So, having established that the MIDI Out works in Windows 10 with its built-in Roland UM-1X driver, what about MIDI In? Some time ago, I finally figured out how to dump custom patch banks and construct MIDI files: Dumping patch banks requires a functional MIDI In, so I had the basis for a test. I used a program called SendSX from 2001. It can be found as Send Sysex at Quest Studios Archive: and it works with 64-bit versions of Windows. It was successfully able to dump the patch banks of my MT-32, which shows that the basic driver is as functional as just about anyone who reads this blog would ever need. This can be convenient for people trying to grab patch banks for non-Sierra games (since most of them are already available).
Just load the game in DOSBox, quit DOSBox (DOSBox does not handle MIDI In) and use SendSX to dump the patch memory of your module.One issue I had is that the UM-1X seems to fall asleep if you neglect using it for too long. If that happens, close all your programs and then open SendSX. If SendSX can open the UM-1X, then you will have awakened your UM-1X for other programs, but you must quit SendSX first.Finally, I recommend using Roland USB MIDI Interfaces for one very important reason.
Roland's devices will transmit System Exclusive Messages to external MIDI devices. System Exclusive Messages are how patch banks are transmitted to the MT-32 and FB-01, making them crucial for DOS games supporting those units. While not crucial for most General MIDI devices, MIDI data that was designed and optimized for playback on the Roland Sound Canvas may also transmit System Exclusive Messagesebay. A cheap, no-name brand USB MIDI Interface may not transmit System Exclusive Messages, giving a severely compromised sound.
In fact, someone recently asked me for advice because his ebay 'cheapie' USB-2-Midi would work with his MT-32 and SC-55mkII but refused to work with his FB-01 and DOSBox. He bought a Roland UM ONE mk2 and when he used the Roland interface his problem was instantly solved, the FB-01 worked perfectly. Said.Thanks for another informative blog post.
I have an UM-2EX that I haven't tried out on Windows 10 yet. Should work the same as your UM-1X no?But actually, I am writing to ask you something different. You mention a Creative X-Fi, I currently have a top of the line which I love due to its hardware EAX compatibility, MIDI ports in the breakout box, and hardware volume control. It runs great using.I am getting occasional sound interference though which leads me to believe the card may be on its way out. Are there any more current alternatives that you know of? What card did you replace your X-Fi with?
Installation without problem on Mac and Pentium, AMD impossible! Totally incompatible!I even bought the latest version, nothing works!Runs without problem otherwise. Polyphony and the quality dpendent used directly from the power of the computer.The manual indicates that how to install, no description of the sound, no midi map, but the names of the sounds are clear and sounds good sorting, organiss logically (standard GM / GS). We find immediately what you're looking.(I use a picture of a brochure for the Roland Sound Canvas hardware for a midi map without making the hand).SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCEOn my Mac Performa 180 MHz 136 MB RAM, the VSC is used as a midifile player, but better a more powerful mac.On my Pentium 4 512 MB RAM Windows98/XP, no problem. He turns to the choice as a standalone application (midifile player, midi or synth controlled by squenceur) as a VSTi / DXi: intgration perfect with squenceur (Magix Music Studio Deluxe 2003, Logic Fun).OVERALL OPINIONIt has 902 sounds and 26 drum sets, a quality equivalent to an expander gnraliste (correct, but not exceptional).Compar Sampletank, it is a little pale figure: less practitioner. But it offers a range of electronic sounds that have made Roland's reputable, that does not Sampletank. The two are complmentaires, I'm running all VSC and Plugsound on my config in my arrangements.The big advantage of Roland sounds is that they immediately s'intgrent a mix.
While that sounds more individually ralistes such as those of Plugsound or Sampletank, are more difficult to operate a complete understanding.The sounds include Roland Idaux to magnify the sound of the orchestra, even and especially if you want to sound 'raliste' (this technique is also used heavily in the band mix Hollywood).The big advantage of VSC is the impact spciaux and sounds of synths and rhythm boxes s legendary Roland necessary arrangements. Difficult to do without!We greatly value for money, especially when the cot COPARE the equivalent hardware: it is a gift from Roland vritable but the incompatibility with AMD should be noted on the box.