It is the 44pin PLCC near CD-ROM connector.

Tiido wrote on 2023-02-17, 07:18:

It is the 44pin PLCC near CD-ROM connector.

+1

There's also diagnose.exe, which shows the DSP version. Or testsb16.exe, its older cousin.
The diagnostic program NSSI also has a DSP detect feature, afaik, but maybe it's not as accurate as Creative's own utility.

Edit: AmoRetro has hi-res scans of the Sound Blaster soundcards.
SB 16 CT1740 is here -> http://www.amoretro.de/2012/03/creative-sound … 0-dsp-4-05.html
I was able to repair my Protac card, who was missing some parts, because of this awesome site! 😁

Tiido wrote on 2023-02-17, 07:18:

It is the 44pin PLCC near CD-ROM connector.

ok, found, i'm waiting it arrive at my home. the version is printed on the chip or i must use the software?

..

Jo22 wrote on 2023-02-17, 08:13:

..

Thank you. Unfortunately the photo I have of the card is not clear and cannot be read. However, I notice that mine does not have an empty socket above the DSP but instead has the chip salted directly on the board. Could this be an indication of an old card and therefore with an older and bug-free DSP?

News: the seller have send me a close pic of the are, i see 4.04.. is correct? is tha same of 4.05?

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-17, 10:28:

News: the seller have send me a close pic of the are, i see 4.04.. is correct? is tha same of 4.05?

The web says that DSP 4.04 is fine, too. No hanging note bug.
https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php

Jo22 wrote on 2023-02-18, 13:15:

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-17, 10:28:

News: the seller have send me a close pic of the are, i see 4.04.. is correct? is tha same of 4.05?

The web says that DSP 4.04 is fine, too. No hanging note bug.
https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php

and installing a proper modern waveblaster card is like to have a mt-32 ?

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-22, 02:25:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-02-18, 13:15:

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-17, 10:28:

News: the seller have send me a close pic of the are, i see 4.04.. is correct? is tha same of 4.05?

The web says that DSP 4.04 is fine, too. No hanging note bug.
https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php

and installing a proper modern waveblaster card is like to have a mt-32 ?

None of these WaveBlaster modules provides authentic MT-32 experience and it is emulated at best with varying accuracy.

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-22, 02:25:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-02-18, 13:15:

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-17, 10:28:

News: the seller have send me a close pic of the are, i see 4.04.. is correct? is tha same of 4.05?

The web says that DSP 4.04 is fine, too. No hanging note bug.
https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php

and installing a proper modern waveblaster card is like to have a mt-32 ?

It's like having Sound Canvas.

kixs wrote on 2023-02-22, 07:18:

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-22, 02:25:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-02-18, 13:15:

The web says that DSP 4.04 is fine, too. No hanging note bug.
https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php

and installing a proper modern waveblaster card is like to have a mt-32 ?

It's like having Sound Canvas.

So my Roland SSC-1 is useless? (i have also one awe32 with wavetable in another socket7 PC)

It's not the same, but pretty close with proper card.

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-22, 02:25:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-02-18, 13:15:

AlessandroB wrote on 2023-02-17, 10:28:

News: the seller have send me a close pic of the are, i see 4.04.. is correct? is tha same of 4.05?

The web says that DSP 4.04 is fine, too. No hanging note bug.
https://dosdays.co.uk/topics/sb16.php

and installing a proper modern waveblaster card is like to have a mt-32 ?

Hi there. The waveblaster connector is like an internal MIDI port, except..
- that there are extra pins that go from and to the sound card (the soundcard's mixer more precisely)
- it uses 5v signals (TTL)

To the software/games, it's the same as if you install a MIDI module externally, by using a cable and the round DIN connectors.
In fact, the internal and external MIDI connector are working in tandem.

If you send MIDI music to the MPU-401, both the waveblaster card and the external MIDI module will start to play.
However, thanks to the sound card's mixer, you can simply mute the MIDI device you don't want to hear.

Since MIDI devices like waveblaster cards or external MIDI modules are playback- instruments mainly, they won't send back.
So there's no problem if both starting singing together, normally.

Of course, it's possible to send special messages (SysEx) to the MIDI devices, to program them.
Then, they will talk back. But that's nothing to worry about.

About the MT-32..
What you're really looking for is a MIDI module or wavetable card that's LAPC-I compatible.
The LAPC-I was a special version of the MT-32 that had it's own MPU-401 (intelligent) on the ISA card.
More precisely, it was the CM32-L that was on the card - together with a fully featured MPU-401.

The CM32-L was a cheaper computer version of the original MT-32.
It had its display and buttons removed, but got an extra bank of sound effects.
(There also was a sister version, CM64 - it contained both the CM32-L and CM32-P mainboards)

Unfortunately, the CM32-L was not as much of a real, universal musical instrument as the old MT-32 was.
Musicians thus kept using and buying the MT-32 instead - that's what I think at least. That's why the MT-32 is more popular, also.
There's a higher chance that musicians kept their MT-32s, didn't throw it out.

If you want to have a pure MT-32 waveblaster card, you can try getting a WP32 McCake or similar product.
Also keep in mind that the SB16 doesn't ave an intelligent MPU-401, just an UART MPU-401 (aka dumb MPU-401).
So you need a little, free program called SoftMPU. It will make your SB16 more intelligent.

But what's the difference, exactly?
In simple words: The orginal MPU-401 was a little computer, a microcontroller, so to say.
It had a program in memory and could react to MIDI messages. It could also provide a metronome to MIDI applications.
This little computer was connected to the PC's computer bus via port address 300h/330h and optionally using IRQ9.
To the oudside world, it talked with 31 250 Baud (same as bit/s, because uncompressed).

The MPU-401 found on later sound cards also talks to the outside world at 31 250 Baud.
It also is located at port address 300h/330h and optionally using IRQ9.
But it has no brain. There's no microcontroller responding. It's just a serial port.
Hence "UART" (=serial transceiver chip). The RS-232 serial port ("COMx) on your old Pc also has an UART, the 16x50 UART FiFo.

What slightly more intelligent soudcards do/did is responding with an "ACK" message to the application/games.
This satisfies most old games and they start running, since only a few need the metronome feature etc.
SoftMPU goes even further and simulates much more reactions of the MPU-401 microcontroller.

To make this work, a virtual MPU-401 is created first (say on port 330h) - that's why a memory manager must be installed.
Games/applications now talk with SoftMPU. SoftMPU in turn sends the MIDI information to the serial port (SB16 MPU-401, listening at port 300h).
(In theory, SoftMPU can be even better than a real MPU-401 at some point in the future, because it's much more flexible.)

That's why a PC's serial port can be used to simulate a MIDI-port, too, by the way.
By changing an oscillator on the ISA card which the COM port is built-into (I'm thinking of an ISA multi-i/o card),
the speed changes from 38400 Baud to 31250 Baud. That's an old hack, essentially.

Edit: Games made before 1993 need SoftMPU, likely. The other games work directly with your SB16.
Just select MT-32 or LAPC-I in the game's installation program.

PS: Some waveblaster cards, like the DB50XG, can simulate an MT-32. Some do better, some worse.
What they mainly do is "re-wiring" the channel numbers for the MIDI instruments, so they match the MT-32 "Patch Map".
Usually, they don't allow uploading new instruments, however. That's something the real MT-32/CM-32L/LAPC-I and WP32 can support.
The modern, freshly made waveblaster cards are also much more flexible. You can install any sound font you want.
That being said, you must make your own choice. We or I don't know what you really want. 😅