General MIDI modules besides the usual ones? \ VOGONS

General MIDI modules besides the usual ones?

Topic actions

Post a reply

First post, by Shponglefan

Posted on 2016-09-21, 15:51

Shponglefan Online

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 2555
Joined: 2016-09-21, 13:13
Location: The North

I've been collecting sound modules as of late and am wondering about the use of MIDI modules besides the usual ones for gaming.

Right now I've got the usual Roland MT-32, SC-55 (v1), SC-88, plus Yamaha MU80 and MU2000EX, which obviously a lot of music was arranged for. But I'm curious how other MIDI modules perform for old MIDI soundtracks.

Specifically GM modules like:

Alesis QSR or Nanosynth
Emu Sound Engine
Kawai Gmega
Korg NS5R
Kurzweil PC2R (and the older K-series)

I've also got a couple more Roland modules on the way (JV-1010 and XV 5080), so I'll find out how those stack up against the usual SoundCanvas line. I've found a few recorded examples of the JV 1080 used with game soundtracks which sound decent, but not much beyond that.

Also, are there any examples of old gaming tracks specifically arranged for non-GM/GS/XG modules? I was thinking of getting an Emu rack (probably the Proteus 2000) and I know it's not a GM module, but curious how useful it might be for composing custom arrangements.

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 1 of 7, by MMaximus

Posted on 2016-09-21, 16:58

MMaximus Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 862
Joined: 2014-03-30, 20:28
Location: FR

I haven't used any of the modules you listed, but I used to own a Korg 05R/W, a JV-2080 and a JV-1010 among others. I think they all have great sounds for music production but weren't really suited for games and sounded generally unbalanced when I tried them for this purpose - especially the Korg. Since then I also acquired an XV-5080 which to my ears sounds better than the JV series for games, maybe thanks to its GM2 compatibility.

I don't know of any game composed for specific modules, apart from Final Fantasy VII which was apparently sequenced for XG (correct me if I'm wrong), and some japanese X68000 games that were sequenced for the CM-64, sometimes using additional SN-U110 cards.

Hard Disk Sounds

Reply 2 of 7, by keropi

Posted on 2016-09-21, 17:51

keropi Offline

Rank l33t++

Rank: l33t++
Posts: 9263
Joined: 2003-09-08, 06:45
Location: Greece

Other synths are interesting but for gaming reasons they are a hit-and-miss situation... What about the Dreamblaster X1 from serdaco? it should be a great alternative game sytnh

🎵 🎧 ⏳ ⚡ PCMIDI MPU , OrpheusII , Action Rewind , Megacard and 🎶GoldLib soundcard website

Reply 3 of 7, by collector

Posted on 2016-09-21, 21:48

collector Offline

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 4490
Joined: 2003-01-15, 10:39

If this is about real modules, why is it in the emulation forum?

The Sierra Help Pages -- New Sierra Game Installers -- Sierra Game Patches -- New Non-Sierra Game Installers

Reply 4 of 7, by Shponglefan

Posted on 2016-09-21, 22:46

Shponglefan Online

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 2555
Joined: 2016-09-21, 13:13
Location: The North

collector wrote:
If this is about real modules, why is it in the emulation forum?

My bad, it's my first day. 😢

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 5 of 7, by Shponglefan

Posted on 2016-09-22, 00:53

Shponglefan Online

Rank l33t

Rank: l33t
Posts: 2555
Joined: 2016-09-21, 13:13
Location: The North

MMaximus wrote:
I don't know of any game composed for specific modules, apart from Final Fantasy VII which was apparently sequenced for XG (correct me if I'm wrong), and some japanese X68000 games that were sequenced for the CM-64, sometimes using additional SN-U110 cards.

I was thinking more along the lines of custom arrangements made after the fact for specific gear. Might be something I'll give a shot...

Pentium 4 Multi-OS Build
486 DX4-100 with 6 sound cards
486 DX-33 with 5 sound cards

Reply 6 of 7, by Stretch

Posted on 2016-09-22, 12:04

Stretch Offline

Rank Member

Rank: Member
Posts: 495
Joined: 2013-11-16, 00:57

Pinball.mid from MS Pinball has the string X5DR in the MIDI comments. If you get a Korg X5DR can you record pinball.mid?

Win 11 - Intel i7-1360p - 32 GB - Intel Iris Xe - Sound BlasterX G5

Reply 7 of 7, by MMaximus

Posted on 2016-09-22, 12:36

MMaximus Offline

Rank Oldbie

Rank: Oldbie
Posts: 862
Joined: 2014-03-30, 20:28
Location: FR

Shponglefan wrote:
I was thinking more along the lines of custom arrangements made after the fact for specific gear. Might be something I'll give a shot...

I'm not sure how easy it is to find midifiles of game soundtracks arranged for specific synths, but I enjoy listening to video game arrangements made by some youtube users, for example this one who does outstanding work IMO:

https://www.youtube.com/user/3104universe/

Stretch wrote:
Pinball.mid from MS Pinball has the string X5DR in the MIDI comments. If you get a Korg X5DR can you record pinball.mid?

I bought an X5DR recently after having found one for a good price, as I somehow regretted having sold my 05R/W a few years ago. It's in storage at the moment but I can try to record this .mid in a few months.

Hard Disk Sounds

Go to top of page Go to top of page

Back to PC Emulation

Main menu

Common searches