€85 sounds a bit steep for the SC-55, even for ebay standards. At that price range you can already get a SC-88. €45-60 is what they usually go for. It can also depend on availability in your country, so if it's the first you've seen in a long time just buy it. But yeah, it would be an ideal complement for your MT-32 😀

But for that price its got the original remote 😀

Yes from my country these things seem to run a bit steeper, but I will probably keep an eye on eBay for a better deal.

Sound Canvas is definitely worth having. Can't comment on the price because it depends on how readily available they are at your location. If they are hard to find I wouldn't hesitate too much...

Ragh wrote:

I currently own a 2nd gen. MT-32 (with headphone output) and am looking at a SC-55, which is for sale for 85 EUR. Will the SC complement the MT well? Is the price right? I am mainly looking for gaming and perhaps some (retro) game music composing. Thanks!

for games with a gm midi option [eg heretic], the sc-55 will often give you what the music composer heard when they created the music. not always though. to some people that's important per se. most seem to agree the sc-55 is good for gm music in many games.

85 euros is not far off the going rate, but unless it's rare where you are i would wait for a cheaper on around 50-60 euros. as distortion said already.

there are some comparison sites around if you want to listen to samples such as:

http://wavetable.nl
http://sound.dosforum.de

also check out these threads:

What is the best General MIDI synth for DOS games?
GM MIDI Tone Generators/Sound Modules - from best to worst

a somewhat offtopic question about SC-55 MK1 and MK2:

is the above sc-55 a mk1 or a mk2? It has the GM logo but no MK2 writting... also it has GS infront of GM logos... anyone knows for sure what revision this is?

keropi wrote:

a somewhat offtopic question about SC-55 MK1 and MK2: […]
Show full quote

a somewhat offtopic question about SC-55 MK1 and MK2:

is the above sc-55 a mk1 or a mk2? It has the GM logo but no MK2 writting... also it has GS infront of GM logos... anyone knows for sure what revision this is?

Its the SC-55 that supports General MIDI. The older SC-55 does not support officially support General MIDI, but in practice it has no real effect since GS is a superset of General MIDI.

The mkII looks like this :

^ OK, that's a little confusing....
The MKII has a clear marking so it's no problem identifying it.
The GS-only logo one is a MK1 AFAIK

and the GS+GM logo like the one I posted? is it mk1 or mk2? or 1.5?!

There are actually (at least) three revisions of the original SC-55:
http://medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/ … sc-55-15449.jpg
http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/jan05/image … and21sc55.l.jpg
http://analogrelics.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/sc-55-1.jpg

I got one like in the 1st picture that d1stortion posted, GS-only logo and nothing else... I hope I made the correct choice for using it with games that support Roland-GS/SCC-1 ...

85 euro would be about the maximum for a sc-55 in my mind. They produce amazing sound though and cant be beat for games around the 1994 mark. Doom 1 and 2, heretic, hexen. Mouse/icon driven sierra titles. Lands of Lore sounds amazing on a sc-55. Please dont hook it up to a pair of dell speakers. Give that sc-55 some love with a receiver or even an old hifi.

The model I am looking at is the one in the 3rd pic that d1stortion posted. I'm not that into FPS games, but I am into Lands of Lore, Betrayal at Krondor and other adventure/RPG games.

Still in these times I do find the 85 EUR quite an investment just for some improvement over the MT-32 in certain games.

You didn't say whether you use a real computer or an emulator. Depending on your demands a software solution could cut it for you.

A single word: Yes.
Two Words: Get It.

If it's not being shipped from far away, the price should be okay since it comes with a remote.

But if you are getting from half-way across the world, with high shipping price, you might want to keep looking if there are other offers.

d1stortion wrote:

You didn't say whether you use a real computer or an emulator. Depending on your demands a software solution could cut it for you.

I use both a Mac with Boxer (dosbox) and a real PC (Pentium 133, 16MB ram, 2GB CF drive, SB Vibra 16) for DOS gaming. I plan to use the Mac (for which I've ordered a chinese USB-midi cable adapter) for any music work.

Malik wrote:

A single word: Yes. Two Words: Get It. […]
Show full quote

A single word: Yes.
Two Words: Get It.

If it's not being shipped from far away, the price should be okay since it comes with a remote.

But if you are getting from half-way across the world, with high shipping price, you might want to keep looking if there are other offers.

Yes, the device is located in my country, so shipping is cheap.

Good, then you might as well get it. If there is another offer from a different country, even if the module is put up for a lower price, when the shipping cost is taken into account, the final cost will be almost the same, especially if the item is from far away.

Just make sure, if possible, everything is working properly, including the remote, or see if it's eligible for a refund if something's not right.

I don't suppose it's coming with it's power adapter too?

Malik wrote:

I don't suppose it's coming with it's power adapter too?

It does have the original power adapter, yes. The only thing missing is the box and whatever manuals came with it.

Manuals: http://www.rolandus.com/support/owners_manuals/s-t

I guess now everything is cleared for you. 😀

Vogons = Audio Aficionados! I'm just a bystander in the sound world but I must tip my hat to the people here - you get the best advice from people who know and care about retro audio...