Need Help on Choosing Roland SC-55 \ VOGONS

Need Help on Choosing Roland SC-55

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First post, by Saotome Ranma

Posted on 2017-06-22, 18:21

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I found out 2 Roland SC-55s here, and neither of them is labeled with any "General MIDI" logo at all on their front panels, which means they belong to the first lot of SC-55 product lines without GM compatibilities.

So here is the questions:

1. Is it worthy of taking one of them into my new collections? I'm quite confused since I've already got SC-D70, SC-88, SC-55ST, CM-300, and CM-500 of Roland series, and MU-100, MU-500 of Yamaha series.... I think I should focus on other devices such as MT-32/MT-100, CM-32/CM-64, SC-8850/Edirol SD-90 and MU-2000EX, but still quite curious on these special SC-55s...

2. Even both of them has no GM logos, their GS logos are not quite the same. One is written as "GS Standard", another is "GS" only (see attached pics I googled for reference). So is there any difference between those two SC-55s? Which one is better (or a must-have) as a retro collection?

Thanks a lot if some advice could be given by you experienced guys here.

PS: 1. SC-55 with "GS" only logo

2. SC-55 with "GS Standard" logo

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Reply 1 of 28, by James-F

Posted on 2017-06-22, 18:35

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http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.co.il/2013/06 … gs-devices.html

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Reply 2 of 28, by Saotome Ranma

Posted on 2017-06-22, 18:52

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James-F wrote:
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.co.il/2013/06 … gs-devices.html

Thank u, dude!!

So, generally speaking, there are no real difference between those two "GS only" SC-55s, and they are a kind of "must-have" for retro games if I want to have some of games' bgms played 100% accurately, right?

Seems things become much more complicated than what I thought.....

Last edited by Saotome Ranma on 2017-06-22, 19:00. Edited 1 time in total.

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Reply 3 of 28, by Saotome Ranma

Posted on 2017-06-22, 18:56

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The earliest Roland SC-55s simply have a "GS STANDARD" logo on the bottom of the front panel, while slightly later SC-55s have a "GS" logo. Modules with the GS logo may still be

"may still be" what??? Seems the last part of that sentence is gone......

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Reply 4 of 28, by James-F

Posted on 2017-06-22, 19:25

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Saotome Ranma wrote:

So, generally speaking, there are no real difference between those two "GS only" SC-55s, and they are a kind of "must-have" for retro games if I want to have some of games' bgms played 100% accurately, right?

Generally, Yes. DOS Games => SC-55.
I would go for SC-55 MKII because it has bug fixes and better DACs if you can find one in your region, should be plenty in Japan.

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Reply 5 of 28, by cyclone3d

Posted on 2017-06-22, 19:25

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Saotome Ranma wrote:
The earliest Roland SC-55s simply have a "GS STANDARD" logo on the bottom of the front panel, while slightly later SC-55s have a "GS" logo. Modules with the GS logo may still be

"may still be" what??? Seems the last part of that sentence is gone......

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Reply 6 of 28, by Saotome Ranma

Posted on 2017-06-22, 19:40

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James-F wrote:
Saotome Ranma wrote:

So, generally speaking, there are no real difference between those two "GS only" SC-55s, and they are a kind of "must-have" for retro games if I want to have some of games' bgms played 100% accurately, right?

Generally, Yes. DOS Games => SC-55.
I would go for SC-55 MKII because it has bug fixes and better DACs if you can find one in your region, should be plenty in Japan.

Thanks, dude! Helped me a lot!! Do appreciate it!

Yep, plenty of SC-55 MKII but they are much more expensive than SC-55 here (like 70~90 USD vs 30~50 USD), and now I've known the reasons why they are much expensive even SC-55 are much proper for retro games....

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Reply 7 of 28, by SuperDeadite

Posted on 2017-06-23, 07:06

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Considering what you already have, I see very little reason to buy another 55. Unless you are using a really good amp and speakers with very specific games, I highly doubt you will notice a difference between these and the CM-300.

Save your money and save up for an X68000. 😀

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Reply 8 of 28, by James-F

Posted on 2017-06-23, 07:42

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Ah yes, the CM-300 will sound like the SC-55.

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Reply 9 of 28, by BloodyCactus

Posted on 2017-06-23, 12:05

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and you have the 55ST already which is a half size 55-MKII.

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Reply 10 of 28, by Shponglefan

Posted on 2017-06-24, 22:14

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James-F wrote:
Ah yes, the CM-300 will sound like the SC-55.

I have a CM-500 (which has a CM-300 inside) and testing it out side-by-side with my SC-55, I can't tell any real difference.

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Reply 11 of 28, by Great Hierophant

Posted on 2017-06-25, 01:04

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Saotome Ranma wrote:
Nerdly Pleasures Blog wrote:
The earliest Roland SC-55s simply have a "GS STANDARD" logo on the bottom of the front panel, while slightly later SC-55s have a "GS" logo. Modules with the GS logo may still be

"may still be" what??? Seems the last part of that sentence is gone......

"may still be General MIDI compatible."

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Reply 12 of 28, by infiniteclouds

Posted on 2017-06-27, 00:06

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I believe there are workarounds/fixes for most but maybe not all of the select early 90s games that do not play properly on an MKII. If you want an SC-55 model that 'just works' with everything you'll want a GS (no General Midi, no GS Standard) model that has a 1.20 or 1.21 firmware. These have BD, CD or DD serial #s. When I bought mine on e-bay I asked the seller to check the firmware version for me beforehand ...

SC-55/55MKII : Press the POWER button to make the STANDBY light come on. While holding both
INSTRUMENT buttons, press both MIDI CH buttons

Reply 13 of 28, by holaplaneta

Posted on 2020-02-20, 03:17

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James-F wrote on 2017-06-22, 19:25:

I would go for SC-55 MKII because it has bug fixes and better DACs if you can find one in your region, should be plenty in Japan.

What´s the latest version of the SC-55 MKII rom? The one to try to get I suppose.

Thanks!

Reply 14 of 28, by Dusko

Posted on 2020-02-20, 07:38

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As far as I know, the "newest" rom of the SC-55 mkII is 1.01

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Reply 15 of 28, by Oetker

Posted on 2020-02-20, 07:41

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infiniteclouds wrote on 2017-06-27, 00:06:

I believe there are workarounds/fixes for most but maybe not all of the select early 90s games that do not play properly on an MKII. If you want an SC-55 model that 'just works' with everything you'll want a GS (no General Midi, no GS Standard) model that has a 1.20 or 1.21 firmware. These have BD, CD or DD serial #s. When I bought mine on e-bay I asked the seller to check the firmware version for me beforehand ...

SC-55/55MKII : Press the POWER button to make the STANDBY light come on. While holding both
INSTRUMENT buttons, press both MIDI CH buttons

My 1.20 unit has serial AC94400. However, it does have a 'GS' face plate. From (lots of) reading I've concluded that 'GS' models can have too old, too new, and 'just right' firmware. However, it seems the serial doesn't say much.

Reply 16 of 28, by holaplaneta

Posted on 2020-02-21, 06:45

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Thank you for your answers! I'll try to hunt down a 1.01 one.

Reply 17 of 28, by Spikey

Posted on 2020-02-21, 14:17

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The real question is, what are the differences between the ROM versions, and do they matter. I have a 1.00 ROM version and it works great.

Reply 18 of 28, by derSammler

Posted on 2020-02-21, 16:36

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For the Mk.II, the ROM version doesn't matter. It's only important for the Mk.I, because only 1.20/1.21 still has capital-tone fallback (later ones don't) and is GM compliant (earlier versions aren't).

Reply 19 of 28, by Cloudschatze

Posted on 2020-02-21, 16:56

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derSammler wrote on 2020-02-21, 16:36:

For the Mk.II, the ROM version doesn't matter. It's only important for the Mk.I, because only 1.20/1.21 still has capital-tone fallback (later ones don't)...

This is incorrect. All "SC-55" units proper, regardless of whether the ROM version is 1.xx or 2.xx, support capital-tone fallback.

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