realnc wrote on 2022-07-07, 05:38:

Quick question: when fast-forwarding DOSBox while using SCVA, midiplayer will often freeze and the process needs to be killed. Is this an SCVA issue?

I do not know what you mean by 'fast-forwarding DOSBox' but you can test easily if your problem is SC-VA related or not: Stop SC-VA and use the BassMidi soundfont output under the same conditions and notice if the same problem happens or not. If it's not happening then you can also narrow down the potential causes by testing if the problem is related to BASS_VST in general or not: That is try another VSTi plugin. The built-in OPL3 GM VSTi is a good candidate since it does not require any further configuration for testing (unlike Munt VSTi).
BTW, VST(i) plugins are in-process simple dynamic libraries so yes, a problem in the plugin can cause the whole process to freeze/crash.

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-07-07, 04:43:

BadMidi.zip

Yep, that's dead for sure 😀 I expected something along the lines of "Badmidi.mid" is invalid, so it won't be added, but having read your explanation, I guess it's fine too.

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-07-07, 04:43:

Now FSMP detects file types by signature not by extension.

Noticed it a while ago, thanks for making it like this.

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-07-07, 04:43:

Maybe I should extend 'Remove dead items' to remove all non-existing items in real time also (that is files that existed when the player started but have been removed since) .

Haven't seen a player that could do that, but now as you mentioned, such an ability would be great!

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-07-07, 04:43:

2. Sincerely I'm very reluctant to add such a feature. So far FSMP has not done anything destructive with file system objects. And many have asked already if 'Remove item(s)' really removes items only from playlist since they are afraid of deleting of files .
So I do not think deleting files from file system has a place in FSMP's feature list.

Having the feature mentioned above, this wouldn't be needed at all.

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-07-07, 04:43:

@Edit:
Here is a new test version that also removes files that existed when the player started but have been removed since.
https://falcosoft.hu/midiplayer_62_test.zip

Thanks for this, now deleting MIDIs i don't like is a breeze!

nmonte wrote on 2022-07-07, 10:43:

Yep, that's dead for sure 😀 I expected something along the lines of "Badmidi.mid" is invalid, so it won't be added, but having read your explanation, I guess it's fine too.

It works like this to avoid multiple error dialogs when you drop/open a whole folder, zip, playlist file (*.mpl) etc. with multiple invalid files. Recognized but invalid files are simply indicated by '???' in the file length column of the playlist instead and can be deleted by 'Remove dead items'. Unrecognized files are simply ignored.
This way you can bravely drop even the Windows folder onto FSMP's playlist. The few found Midi files are added to the playlist without having to press OK on thousands of 'xxx is invalid or not recognized' message boxes 😀

Thanks for this, now deleting MIDIs i don't like is a breeze!

You're welcome!

Sorry if I am being dense (or lazy) but is there a pointer somewhere to using a MID or SYX file to switch a Buran to MT-32 mode via MidiPlayer?
I have been using the DOSMID-based solution in DOS (via MIDI port if that matters) quite happily, but with MidiPlayer when I simply put the MT32EMUL.MID ahead of a playlist of MT-32-intended XMI-s, it seems I am getting "default" instruments sound...

ludicrous_peridot wrote on 2022-08-01, 20:32:

Sorry if I am being dense (or lazy) but is there a pointer somewhere to using a MID or SYX file to switch a Buran to MT-32 mode via MidiPlayer?
I have been using the DOSMID-based solution in DOS (via MIDI port if that matters) quite happily, but with MidiPlayer when I simply put the MT32EMUL.MID ahead of a playlist of MT-32-intended XMI-s, it seems I am getting "default" instruments sound...

Hi,
It's because by default MidiPlayer sends a GS Reset before playing the next song on the playlist (that Dreamblaster X2/X3 understands).
So you should right click the first aid like 'Reset' button on the right hand side of the player and click 'Select/Send Custom SySex' then select MT-32_Reset.syx. After this right click again on the 'Reset' button and make sure that MT-32_Reset is selected.
MT-32_Reset works since the DB X2/X3 does not understand it so no real reset happens between playlist entries.

Hey, many thanks for that! I am hearing THAT sound now.
But now that I have read your explanation, would it also mean that:

A. If I have a sysex xmi that I've extracted from, say, Legend of Kyrandia, it would be meaningless to prepend it to the "music" XMIs playlist for Dreamblaster as it will likely have MT32 specific instructions that Deamblaster would ignore, and that I should instead put MT32EMUL.MID ahead of the tracks?
B. I would need to configure MIDIPlayer similarly how you described it for playback with munt, but in munt case, prepending with original game sysex track would actually make sense?
C. For GM music simply prepending the playlist with a sysex track, e.g. one extracted from Lands of Lore, is rather meaningless as MidiPlayer will send a GM reset anyway, so I would need a trick similar to the one with MT-32_Reset to suppress that for subsequent music tracks?

Sorry if I sound like I'm thinking out loud, I am just trying to make sure I actually get things right. 😀

PS.
Also to add to the above, sharing some listening experience. While Legend of Kyranida tracks sounded awesome for me with the suggested method on Buran (except for the hidden track that sounded slightly off when "compared" to its Adlib version), neither Dune 2 nor Lands of Lore tacks did. Instead I was getting somewhat unexpected instrument mappings - I imagine it may actually reflect that unlike Kyrandia, these are not on Deamblaster list of MT-32 games... Both have GM soundtrack as well, so I guess, it's ok 😀

A. If I have a sysex xmi that I've extracted from, say, Legend of Kyrandia, it would be meaningless to prepend it to the "music" XMIs playlist for Dreamblaster as it will likely have MT32 specific instructions that Deamblaster would ignore, and that I should instead put MT32EMUL.MID ahead of the tracks?

Basically yes. It's because DreamBlasters are NOT fully MT-32 compatible. DreamBlasters implement the same MT-32 compatibility as Roland SC-55 devices. This means only MT-32 titles that do not use custom instruments but the default ones work (e.g Dune 1, Monkey Island 1 etc.). Any MT-32 specific SysEx messages are ignored by SC-55/DreamBlaster.
List of games that use MT-32 default instruments

B. I would need to configure MIDIPlayer similarly how you described it for playback with munt, but in munt case, prepending with original game sysex track would actually make sense?

Yes, but for Munt (VSTi) and real MT-32 compatible devices it's easier to use .syx files directly than using initialization .mid files.
1. if MidiPlayer finds same named Mid + Syx file pairs (e.g. Dune2.mid + Dune2.syx) it automatically loads the syx file before playback. This way you do not have to worry about what default Reset message is sent by the player since the syx files are played after the default reset.

2. If you have multiple Midi files that all require the same initialization SysEx messages you can put a 'Folder.Syx' into the folder. Folder.syx will be loaded before the playback of each Mid files in that folder.
Example Folder.Syx and demonstration video for Dune2:
Re: Falcosoft Soundfont Midi Player + Munt VSTi + BassMidi VSTi

3. For ad-hoc experiments you can drag&drop syx files onto the main interface of MidPlayer. The dropped Syx files are sent to active Midi device/VSTi immediately.

C. For GM music simply prepending the playlist with a sysex track, e.g. one extracted from Lands of Lore, is rather meaningless as MidiPlayer will send a GM reset anyway, so I would need a trick similar to the one with MT-32_Reset to suppress that for subsequent music tracks?

GM/GS/XG Midi files/games usually do not require any SysEx initialization tracks. The default Reset sent by the player is enough.

PS.
Also to add to the above, sharing some listening experience. While Legend of Kyranida tracks sounded awesome for me with the suggested method on Buran (except for the hidden track that sounded slightly off when "compared" to its Adlib version), neither Dune 2 nor Lands of Lore tacks did. Instead I was getting somewhat unexpected instrument mappings - I imagine it may actually reflect that unlike Kyrandia, these are not on Deamblaster list of MT-32 games... Both have GM soundtrack as well, so I guess, it's ok 😀

Look at my answer for your question A. Dune 2 definitely uses custom instruments so it is not compatible with SC-55/Dreamblaster like MT-32 emulation.

I want to record from my hardware synth (Roland SC-D70, 48kHz 24-bit) but thanks to ACM I can only do at most 16 bit, even with ACM FLAC. Please find a way for me to do 24 bit recordings in no-BASS mode.

stgiga wrote on 2022-08-06, 23:18:

I want to record from my hardware synth (Roland SC-D70, 48kHz 24-bit) but thanks to ACM I can only do at most 16 bit, even with ACM FLAC. Please find a way for me to do 24 bit recordings in no-BASS mode.

Yep, you cannot record higher than 16-bit through ACM. Also 16+ bit recording on Windows is problematic through WinMM and Directsound. Only real option is to use WASAPI that is restricted to Vista+. To tell you the truth I do not plan to include WASAPI recording in the near future. But you can use any other recording applications the same way as Midi Player in case of external synths. In case of external synths Midi Player itself cannot do other than grab the audio samples through Stereo Mix/What you hear that are also available from other recording applications. So when you use Midi player for playback you can use e.g. Audacity for recording.

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-08-07, 20:14:

stgiga wrote on 2022-08-06, 23:18:

I want to record from my hardware synth (Roland SC-D70, 48kHz 24-bit) but thanks to ACM I can only do at most 16 bit, even with ACM FLAC. Please find a way for me to do 24 bit recordings in no-BASS mode.

Yep, you cannot record higher than 16-bit through ACM. Also 16+ bit recording on Windows is problematic through WinMM and Directsound. Only real option is to use WASAPI that is restricted to Vista+. To tell you the truth I do not plan to include WASAPI recording in the near future. But you can use any other recording applications the same way as Midi Player in case of external synths. In case of external synths Midi Player itself cannot do other than grab the audio samples through Stereo Mix/What you hear that are also available from other recording applications. So when you use Midi player for playback you can use e.g. Audacity for recording.

Winamp (including the 2022 version) has 24-bit ACM support. I have used it, but a problem with it is that when going to the next track, a slight bit of the old track plays. Considering that I'm trying to sample the SC-D70 patches, to do this I have to feed the MIDIs in 1 at a time rather than have it output the wavs automatically. The SC-D70 has over 1600 patches. And quite a few of the drumsets on the device span 0-127 with minimal gaps. So the drumkits alone would each be 127 samples at the worst case. And there's 63 drumkits. So yeah, doing this would suck because of how Winamp crossfades when it isn't supposed to. One thing about 2022 Winamp that I find cool is that it has better audio richness than even OpenMPT on my laptop speakers because I can set the volume and EQ pre-amp to max, and enable the limiter to avoid clipping, and then not touch the other bars of the EQ.).

stgiga wrote on 2022-08-13, 16:10:

Winamp (including the 2022 version) has 24-bit ACM support....

I have just downloaded a portable version of Winamp to check this but I could only find the same ACM interface as Midi Player uses and that is only capable to record in 16-bit maximum...

@Edit:
I have made some experiments and it seems that at least under Win10 (since the audio engine is fully floating point) I can request WAVE_FORMAT_IEEE_FLOAT as a valid recording format even through DirectSound capture.
So this way maybe I can implement direct 32-bit floating point wave recording through DirectSound completely bypassing ACM the same way as in case of Bass based recording.

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-08-13, 18:32:

I have just downloaded a portable version of Winamp to check this but I could only find the same ACM interface as Midi Player u […]
Show full quote

stgiga wrote on 2022-08-13, 16:10:

Winamp (including the 2022 version) has 24-bit ACM support....

I have just downloaded a portable version of Winamp to check this but I could only find the same ACM interface as Midi Player uses and that is only capable to record in 16-bit maximum...

winamp_acm1.png

@Edit:
I have made some experiments and it seems that at least under Win10 (since the audio engine is fully floating point) I can request WAVE_FORMAT_IEEE_FLOAT as a valid recording format even through DirectSound capture.
So this way maybe I can implement direct 32-bit floating point wave recording through DirectSound completely bypassing ACM the same way as in case of Bass based recording.

That would be great! Honestly float would be handy for doing Corrscope videos (Corrscope is an oscilloscope view progam that hates 24 bit but can do 8, 16, 32 and 64 bit audio. No need to record my screen when I can directly feed in audio.)

stgiga wrote on 2022-08-14, 21:05:

That would be great! Honestly float would be handy for doing Corrscope videos (Corrscope is an oscilloscope view progam that hates 24 bit but can do 8, 16, 32 and 64 bit audio. No need to record my screen when I can directly feed in audio.)

OK, here is a new test version for you to try. 32-bit floating point recording works for me on WinXP/Win7/Win10.
You can set the new 32-bit float formats in Device Settings dialog -> Recording Source section. You cannot set the 32-bit float option in the recording dialog like in case of Bass recording since in case of Directsound capture you can have only one recording buffer and that is used globally also for volume meter etc. But the recording dialog shows if 32-bit float option is enabled or not (but you cannot change it there).
If 32-bit float option is enabled the ACM codec selection part is also disabled (just like in case of Bass recording).
Please, test it and report back.
https://falcosoft.hu/midiplayer_62_test.zip

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-08-15, 09:16:

OK, here is a new test version for you to try. 32-bit floating point recording works for me on WinXP/Win7/Win10. You can set th […]
Show full quote

stgiga wrote on 2022-08-14, 21:05:

That would be great! Honestly float would be handy for doing Corrscope videos (Corrscope is an oscilloscope view progam that hates 24 bit but can do 8, 16, 32 and 64 bit audio. No need to record my screen when I can directly feed in audio.)

OK, here is a new test version for you to try. 32-bit floating point recording works for me on WinXP/Win7/Win10.
You can set the new 32-bit float formats in Device Settings dialog -> Recording Source section. You cannot set the 32-bit float option in the recording dialog like in case of Bass recording since in case of Directsound capture you can have only one recording buffer and that is used globally also for volume meter etc. But the recording dialog shows if 32-bit float option is enabled or not (but you cannot change it there).
If 32-bit float option is enabled the ACM codec selection part is also disabled (just like in case of Bass recording).
Please, test it and report back.
https://falcosoft.hu/midiplayer_62_test.zip

It Works!

Is there a way to boost MIDI volume beyond 100% in the FMP? Lately it seems my MIDI music in games is not loud enough even if volume is maxed out in the MIDIPlayer and ingame settings. No idea what caused this since it was fine until like 1-2 months ago, but I wouldn't know if any system setting can be responsible for this.

Trelokk wrote on 2022-09-16, 05:35:

Is there a way to boost MIDI volume beyond 100% in the FMP? Lately it seems my MIDI music in games is not loud enough even if volume is maxed out in the MIDIPlayer and ingame settings. No idea what caused this since it was fine until like 1-2 months ago, but I wouldn't know if any system setting can be responsible for this.

If you are using Bass based output mode (Bassmidi with soundfonts or VSTi instrument plugins) then yes, there is.
1. In Midi Player's package (VST folder) you can find SimpleGainVST plugin. You can load it as an effect plugin to an effect slot and set gain up to +12dB.
It's a simple constant gain, no fancy logic to prevent clipping (although in case of 32-bit floating point samples actually there is no clipping but dynamic compression).
2. You can download and use more advanced volume/gain VST2 effect plugins such as LoudMax:
https://loudmax.blogspot.com/

The Loudmax plugin has also been recommended to me by someone over at the Doomworld forums. Since I mostly need this for playing with Doom ports like Crispy Doom or Woof!, another solution has already surfaced: A code patch for those Doom ports which adjusts MIDI volume so that it works like in the original (DOS) releases. This boosted MIDI volume sufficiently for me.

Anyway, it's great that FMP comes with its own volume enhancer - never had to use it until now, though.

Is there a VSTi for the Yamaha FB-01? I've been using Falcosoft + Munt VSTi for MT32/CM-32L + SC-VA and Yamaha XG VSTi's for General MIDI. I'm thinking of getting a second hand Mini PC just to run Falcosoft to emulate all my sound modules, so a Yamaha FB-01 could actually be a great addition to act as IBM Music Feature Card replacement.

carlostex wrote on 2022-09-17, 10:32:

Is there a VSTi for the Yamaha FB-01? I've been using Falcosoft + Munt VSTi for MT32/CM-32L + SC-VA and Yamaha XG VSTi's for General MIDI. I'm thinking of getting a second hand Mini PC just to run Falcosoft to emulate all my sound modules, so a Yamaha FB-01 could actually be a great addition to act as IBM Music Feature Card replacement.

I have not met any so far. But I have found a github project that can be a starting point:

https://github.com/jariseon/amame

Falcosoft wrote on 2022-09-17, 13:02:

I have not met any so far. But I have found a github project that can be a starting point:

https://github.com/jariseon/amame

Yeah i remember Scali was working on some version of that for DOSBox. Wonder how that is going.

In any case this would be a great addition, if ever a VST of this is done. I've been rocking out Falcosoft for a while and i'm very happy with it. Love that with just batch files i can switch synths on the fly. Keep up the good work, its very much appreciated.