VOGONS

Compaq Business Wavetable Sound Card - ES1869F + ES692S

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First post, by GigAHerZ

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I recently got this card and it seems to be absolutely amazing card.
It's basically the very compatible (and even enhanced kind of) ESS sound card that has built-in E-Wave waveblaster.

But as i have very little experience with any "external synthesizer" concept, i have few questions.

In dos games, when i choose Sound Blaster / Ad Lib, i should be getting ESFM sound, correct?
But when i choose General Midi with 330 address, i should be getting the sound out of that ES692S chip, correct?
I know that General Midi can be chosen without any wavetable additions. So is there a possibility for me to do General Midi with the ESFM synthesizer?
Any other "alternative options" that i should be aware of?

Also, what could those J12 pins be? If there's something even slightly useful to populate with components, i would like to do that. 😀

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!

Reply 1 of 4, by dominusprog

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GigAHerZ wrote on 2024-05-25, 14:17:
In dos games, when i choose Sound Blaster / Ad Lib, i should be getting ESFM sound, correct? But when i choose General Midi with […]
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In dos games, when i choose Sound Blaster / Ad Lib, i should be getting ESFM sound, correct?
But when i choose General Midi with 330 address, i should be getting the sound out of that ES692S chip, correct?
I know that General Midi can be chosen without any wavetable additions. So is there a possibility for me to do General Midi with the ESFM synthesizer?
Any other "alternative options" that i should be aware of?

Yes and yes. What do you mean by using GM with FM synthesizer? GM uses the sound font stored in the ROM chip.

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Reply 2 of 4, by GigAHerZ

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dominusprog wrote on 2024-05-25, 15:46:
GigAHerZ wrote on 2024-05-25, 14:17:
In dos games, when i choose Sound Blaster / Ad Lib, i should be getting ESFM sound, correct? But when i choose General Midi with […]
Show full quote

In dos games, when i choose Sound Blaster / Ad Lib, i should be getting ESFM sound, correct?
But when i choose General Midi with 330 address, i should be getting the sound out of that ES692S chip, correct?
I know that General Midi can be chosen without any wavetable additions. So is there a possibility for me to do General Midi with the ESFM synthesizer?
Any other "alternative options" that i should be aware of?

Yes and yes. What do you mean by using GM with FM synthesizer? GM uses the sound font stored in the ROM chip.

I vaguely remember from long times ago that if you have a simple sound blaster (or compatible) that does Adlib, then in games setup you could choose "General MIDI" and you get a different variant of FM synth. I might be misremembering, though...

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - And i intend to get every last bit out of it even after loading every damn driver!

Reply 3 of 4, by Grzyb

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"General MIDI" doesn't specify any particular type of synthesis.

Yes, in practice that setting is used to operate a sample-based (a.k.a. wavetable) synth, connected via one of the following:
- external MIDI port
- internal Wave Blaster header
- integrated on the card

But!

It's perfectly possible to make an FM synth with MIDI interface + General MIDI instrument mapping.
I've never seen such a thing, but we all know that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence...

It's even possible to make a MIDI + General MIDI thing that doesn't use any synthesis!
Imagine an orchestra of robots playing on acoustic instruments...

Nie tylko, jak widzicie, w tym trudność, że nie zdołacie wejść na moją górę, lecz i w tym, że ja do was cały zejść nie mogę, gdyż schodząc, gubię po drodze to, co miałem donieść.

Reply 4 of 4, by Grzyb

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GigAHerZ wrote on 2024-05-25, 14:17:

Also, what could those J12 pins be? If there's something even slightly useful to populate with components, i would like to do that. 😀

That may be for connecting VOLUME UP/VOLUME DOWN/MUTE buttons.

Nie tylko, jak widzicie, w tym trudność, że nie zdołacie wejść na moją górę, lecz i w tym, że ja do was cały zejść nie mogę, gdyż schodząc, gubię po drodze to, co miałem donieść.

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