imi wrote on 2021-01-14, 12:36:

project "midi tower" is slowly taking shape ^^

midi_03b.jpg

excuse the black bars, but the forum software doesn't like portrait orientation images for some reason.

Excellent!

imi wrote on 2021-01-14, 12:36:

project "midi tower" is slowly taking shape ^^

midi_03b.jpg

excuse the black bars, but the forum software doesn't like portrait orientation images for some reason.

Needs a Roland MKS-900 or A-110 in that beast.

SuperDeadite wrote on 2021-01-14, 12:59:

Needs a Roland MKS-900 or A-110 in that beast.

welp, never heard of them, now I want one x3

I have one, and they look really damn cool in person. Videos don't do them justice. Shame they are quite rare though, or I'd buy a full rack of 16, 1 for each channel. 😀

imi wrote on 2021-01-14, 14:22:

welp, never heard of them, now I want one x3

You and I both my friend 😁 just another thing I didn't know I needed! I'm officially on the hunt for an A-110 to go with my beautiful A-880 mixer...

now that I think about it I've seen a video of one of them before showing DOS game music x3 ... but I had already forgotten, not ready to pay "those" prices for it though 🤣.

Yep, my initial checks are not looking good... 😁

One module I'm not seeing get any love in here is the Roland SC-D70. I got one just under a month ago and it's quickly become a favorite. It's the last in the Sound Canvas line and is basically a SC8820 that can run at 24bit 44/48Khz vs 24bit 32Khz on the 8820/8850. It also is the only SC to support either digital or optical audio out. The only downside is it doesn't have a physical button to switch instrument maps but you can do this via sysex messages. This supports SC55/SC88/SC88Pro/SC8820 maps.

It does sound different from an SC55 so my SC50 still gets use, and I have a MU500 for XG. I still waiting for deals on a nice Korg or Casio but it looks like these were much less popular in Japan compared to the Rolands and Yamahas so there seems to be much less supply and thus higher prices.

SScorpio wrote on 2021-01-14, 18:28:

One module I'm not seeing get any love in here is the Roland SC-D70. I got one just under a month ago and it's quickly become a favorite. It's the last in the Sound Canvas line and is basically a SC8820 that can run at 24bit 44/48Khz vs 24bit 32Khz on the 8820/8850. It also is the only SC to support either digital or optical audio out. The only downside is it doesn't have a physical button to switch instrument maps but you can do this via sysex messages. This supports SC55/SC88/SC88Pro/SC8820 maps.

It does sound different from an SC55 so my SC50 still gets use, and I have a MU500 for XG. I still waiting for deals on a nice Korg or Casio but it looks like these were much less popular in Japan compared to the Rolands and Yamahas so there seems to be much less supply and thus higher prices.

SC-D70 is really nice and works fine for me as an audio device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQn3SyDh2Xo

why does LGR try and copy me... heh x3

I know I know, I'm definitely not the first either, it's just funny that often when I try do something or think about it a LGR video comes up a short time later x3

Here is my current midi 'towerish' setup.

In the white box on the top left are all my wavetable daughterboards + device to connect them as an external sound module.

that's a very nice and complete collection :3

oh what have I gotten myself into here... x3
I'll have to redo this all eventually, just trying to figure out cable runs...

That's nothing. Try again with a couple 19" rack synths with up to 10 individual outputs in a 20U rack... 😜

I think I have about 300 Euros sunk into audio cables only per rack...

If you only have room for 1 or 2 or 3 MIDI devices which would you choose to get the authentic sound the game developer intended for you to hear ?

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2021-01-27, 10:52:

If you only have room for 1 or 2 or 3 MIDI devices which would you choose to get the authentic sound the game developer intended for you to hear ?

For me:
CM-64
SC-88Pro
MU-2000EX
But there is always room for one more!

Regarding mixers and cables, I've been building up my MSX VGMPlay rig, and it's a complete mess. So worth it though.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2021-01-27, 10:52:

If you only have room for 1 or 2 or 3 MIDI devices which would you choose to get the authentic sound the game developer intended for you to hear ?

If space is an issue, get a Raspberry Pi 3 and run MT32 Pi on it. That will give you MT32 old, MT32 new, and CM32L. The software also supports soundfonts, so you can try out general MIDI games and see if you like the sounds.

If you want more get a Roland Sound Canvas, many GM games were designed around either the SC55 or SC55Mk2. There are the minor sound differences between the two revisions, but overall either should work. I personally have a SC50 which is a budget SC55Mk2 that has the same sound put no 2nd front MIDI port or the MT32 backwards compatibility that was very hit or miss. If you want great sound and are OK with minor differences, you could get a Roland SC-D70. It's the only Sound Canvas with digital out. I don't really recommend the SC88/SC88pro/SC8820/SC8850 with their used pricing compared to the SC-D70.

If you want Yamaha XG support, get either a MU80, or one of the digital modules MU500/1000/2000.

For many people the Pi is good enough, so start your journey there and buy modules if you want more.

SScorpio wrote on 2021-01-27, 13:47:

If you want Yamaha XG support, get either a MU80, or one of the digital modules MU500/1000/2000.

If memory serves me well, as a XG/GM computer module, a MU80 will give you nothing more than a MU50. So that's another option whatever you find available, and it may also be cheaper.

Boohyaka wrote on 2021-01-27, 13:53:

If memory serves me well, as a XG/GM computer module, a MU80 will give you nothing more than a MU50. So that's another option whatever you find available, and it may also be cheaper.

For games you are right, the MU50 is a budget version of the MU80. Price-wise they seem to be pretty much exactly the same, but it depends where and when you are looking.

Yamaha does end up being an acquired taste. I recommend using the Yamaha S-YXG50 VSTi plugin and listening to a bunch of game MIDIs to see if you like the sound before jumping in on one of their modules. The MT32 family and SC55 were probably the targets for most games people would play.