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X2GU : New GM bank for DreamBlaster X2

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Reply 80 of 127, by dreamblaster

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clueless1 wrote:

I've been playing Wing Commander Privateer for the past couple of months using this GUD bank and it sounds almost indistinguishable from Roland. Another thank you and good job to Serdaco and dreamblaster!

Great to hear, and big thanks to Doppler for his huge help on this bank.
In fact he's been working hard on an update, and it already sounds superb, very promising. Hope to have it released during the xmas holidays.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 81 of 127, by dreamblaster

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Here's some information on the pending GUD update :
At the moment we are at GUD beta 1.04b, this version is not yet public, as we are still testing,
For the bank size fetisjists, this bank is 35mbytes in size It may grow further when more instruments are added, but making the bank larger is not our main target.
We are aiming for a bank that is well balanced, sounds great for all games, and does not copy SC-55 but actually sounds better.
It takes a lot of time to achieve this, especially because we are respecting copyright and only use samples with permission (from general user), or create new synth instruments from scratch.
New in this 1.04 beta are 3 new instruments (replacing the old ones), synthesized from scratch using virtual analog VST :
38-Synth Bass 1
80-Square Lead
81-Saw Lead

Descent, Doom, ROTT sound great with it.
We are currently testing with more games and fine tuning.
I hope to have it released before the year's end.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 82 of 127, by moturimi1

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dreamblaster wrote:
Here's some information on the pending GUD update : At the moment we are at GUD beta 1.04b, this version is not yet public, as […]
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Here's some information on the pending GUD update :
At the moment we are at GUD beta 1.04b, this version is not yet public, as we are still testing,
For the bank size fetisjists, this bank is 35mbytes in size It may grow further when more instruments are added, but making the bank larger is not our main target.
We are aiming for a bank that is well balanced, sounds great for all games, and does not copy SC-55 but actually sounds better.
It takes a lot of time to achieve this, especially because we are respecting copyright and only use samples with permission (from general user), or create new synth instruments from scratch.
New in this 1.04 beta are 3 new instruments (replacing the old ones), synthesized from scratch using virtual analog VST :
38-Synth Bass 1
80-Square Lead
81-Saw Lead

Descent, Doom, ROTT sound great with it.
We are currently testing with more games and fine tuning.
I hope to have it released before the year's end.

Cool, I am looking forward to it!!!
That should be the goal: good sound for most games (not only doom and decent) and different from Roland.
Please test some Lucas Arts Games or Sierra Games too, They have normally great Midi Soundtracks.

Reply 83 of 127, by MordekaiZeyo

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Cool. I'm curious how the new instruments sounds like. I'm looking forward. 😀

Intel Pentium 3-S 1266Mhz | 512 MB DDR-400 @SD-RAM PC133 | Elitegroup P6S5AT | Galaxy Geforce 6600 GT AGP @4x AGP | Terratec Xfire 1024 PCI Soundcard with Dreamblaster X2
Windows 2000 Pro SP4

Reply 84 of 127, by dreamblaster

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yeah the bank beta will be available soon (in a few days)

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 85 of 127, by Whiskey

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This is fantastic news, looking very much forward to giving the new beta bank a go.

I stream retro games every wednesday here & I dump the recordings here

Reply 86 of 127, by dreamblaster

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Okay I already uploaded GUD 1.04 here : file GUD_104.zip at http://serdaco.com/downloads/X2/?dir=X2_SoundbankPack/GM/GUD
The new bank is approx. 35 mbytes in size.

We tested using AuditPreset2 (little effect) and AuditPreset (almost no effect), as these allow us to debug better.
The default preset has much more effect, too much to my taste, but this may be subjective.
For gaming, there may be a a better suitable preset, somewhere in the middle, or some of the LessIsMore presets.
You are welcome to post your favourite preset to make this GUD bank shine.

I will add more documentation on the changes later, for now see earlier in this thread for the new instruments.
Also there was more tweaking and balancing, after listening tests.

If there are any problems, we'll fix it in 1.05.

Many thanks to doppler for his huge help on this project.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 88 of 127, by clueless1

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Thank you! I may not get to test for awhile. My X2 is in my DOS PC and not sure when I can get it open, but I'm looking forward to hearing the difference!

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
Let's benchmark our systems with cache disabled
DOS PCI Graphics Card Benchmarks

Reply 89 of 127, by moturimi1

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dreamblaster wrote:

Okay I already uploaded GUD 1.04 here

Just a short comment:
I have to say it is impressive, it is really an improvement to the predecessor.
I do like nearly all instruments now.
The reed section and drums are awesome, brass section is great too (only trumpet on higher octave a bit weak).
The Choir Aahs are excellent too.

I ask myself why do so many sf2 soundfonts have to be so large? It does not seem to be necessary.

Last edited by moturimi1 on 2018-01-05, 21:09. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 90 of 127, by Falcosoft

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Hi,
This new version is a must have for all X2/X3M users. It's very well balanced and has its own characteristics. So definitely not just a Sound Canvas epigone. I don't remember if it has been mentioned but one of the biggest changes is that on Drum channels PC# 48 Orchestra is supported in this version. And it makes a night and day difference in midis that use it (Warcraft II, some Duke Nukem 3D songs etc.).

I have made a short video mainly about the new Orchestra Drum set and some useful tips if you want to use DB X2/X3M with Falcosoft Midi Player to listen to midi files.
https://youtu.be/82w-FUAJw1M

1. You should enable 'Use SysEx for Volume/Balance' in mixer settings. This way the Volume and Balance sliders work with X2/X3M.
2. You can change Reverb and Chorus type/level settings in real time. It is similar to 'X2 Acoustic settings' you can find in the Dreamblaster X2 Preset Editor, but you do not have to re-flash presets to change it.
3. The Dreamblasters are very good for real time jamming with and external Midi keyboard because of the extremely low latency. The only problem is (it's just my taste) that the default piano is rather harsh in GUD 1.04. But the X2 supports advanced GS controllers like CC# 74 Cutoff Frequency. You can use this controller to give the default piano a warmer sound. For me CC# 74 set to 44 sounds much better with the default piano.

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Reply 91 of 127, by Whiskey

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If any one has any game requests for recording comparisons v1 vs. 1.04 please let me know. I'll post them on soundcloud. Already planning on doing Doom 1&2, Descent, Monkey Island UTE GSmidi, Sam & Max and Demonstar (Bobby Prince sound track).

I stream retro games every wednesday here & I dump the recordings here

Reply 92 of 127, by Eleanor1967

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Whiskey wrote:

If any one has any game requests for recording comparisons v1 vs. 1.04 please let me know. I'll post them on soundcloud. Already planning on doing Doom 1&2, Descent, Monkey Island UTE GSmidi, Sam & Max and Demonstar (Bobby Prince sound track).

I would like to know how The Settlers 2 sound 😀

Reply 93 of 127, by clueless1

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Whiskey wrote:

If any one has any game requests for recording comparisons v1 vs. 1.04 please let me know. I'll post them on soundcloud. Already planning on doing Doom 1&2, Descent, Monkey Island UTE GSmidi, Sam & Max and Demonstar (Bobby Prince sound track).

Those are good ones. Descent 1/2 I think were the only games I thought were a little iffy, I'm curious how they sound now. Thanks for offering!

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
Let's benchmark our systems with cache disabled
DOS PCI Graphics Card Benchmarks

Reply 94 of 127, by Whiskey

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Here are the the first of the tracks, all GUD v1. Just updating the X2 and recording the sound for editing for the GUD 1.04 versions. All the tracks are recorded from a ESS Audiodrive with the X2 attached to the wavetable header.

GUD Release 1.0 Playlists
Soundcloud playlist links have a few example tracks and the more extensive sets can be downloaded from Google Drive - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cdIEu … HsG?usp=sharing

Demonstar - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … ar-bobby-prince
Descent - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … 10-descent-plus
Descent 2 - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … ud-10-descent-2
Doom - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … -gud-1-0-doom-1
Doom II Hell on Earth - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … x2-gud-1-0-doom
The Secret of Monkey Island Ultimate Talkie Edition - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … f-monkey-island
The Settlers 2 - https://soundcloud.com/whiskeyjuliet/sets/dre … -2-gold-edition

NEW GUD Release 1.04 Playlists
To be updated.

I stream retro games every wednesday here & I dump the recordings here

Reply 95 of 127, by clueless1

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I had a chance to flash my X2 with the GUD 1.04. Overall, VERY nice! Thank you, guys!

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
Let's benchmark our systems with cache disabled
DOS PCI Graphics Card Benchmarks

Reply 97 of 127, by dreamblaster

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There are no newer versions of the GUD bank. The latest version is 1.04 .
The Buran bank (successor to GUD), is also available at 0.9 version :
These official banks be downloaded from http://serdaco.com/downloads/X2/
Recommended to use on of these presets with the above soundbanks, for realistic effects and equalisation :
PhilsComputerLab Preset for X3MB Buran.DXP
BURAN_EFFECTS_APPIAH4_v2_0.DXP

Further, unofficial banks, such as the Roland inspired bank,
are available in this thread from Hummtaro : Re: Unofficial Soundbanks for Dreamblaster X2/X3M
Feel free to try and provide feedback in that thread.

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !

Reply 99 of 127, by dreamblaster

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ahtoh wrote:

Thanks,
What is the difference between GUD and BURAN? Is this completely new bank or GUD variant?

The Buran bank development was started from GUD 1.04 bank, so it is based on this :
It was extended with new synthesized instruments, and tweaked in various places.
Buran is 50 mbytes in size, and GUD 1.04 is 34mbytes
Depending on your preference, you may like either GUD or Buran more.
If you want something really different from GUD, check out hummtaro's bank,
or of course the default dream bank (http://serdaco.com/downloads/X2/?dir=X2_Sound … nkPack/GM/Dream )

Visit http://www.serdashop.com for retro sound cards, video converters, ...
DreamBlaster X2, S2, S2P, HDD Clicker, ... many projects !
New X2GS SE & X16GS sound card : https://www.serdashop.com/X2GS-SE ,
Thanks for your support !